Apple Reportedly Receives Certification To Sell Brazilian Assembled iPad 2
by Dave LeClair
April 6, 2012
Foxconn and Apple are working diligently to ramp up production in Brazil and it seems the fruits of their labor are finally being realized. MacRumors is reporting that Apple is making more progress with iPad production than with the iPhone at Foxconn's Brazilian production facility. In fact, they have just received certification to manufacture and sell the 16GB version of the iPad 2 in Brazil.
This will not replace the Chinese produced models completely, as it seems that Apple will sell those along with the new Brazilian produced models. This allows Apple to put more devices on shelves in a highly populated country while avoiding some of the large import taxes that Brazil places on goods.
Apple currently sells the full iPad line in Brazil. Because they have only received certification for the 16GB model, all larger capacity versions will still have to be imported. However, it seems that Apple will only carry the 16GB model once the new iPad launches in Brazil. As production ramps up, this could allow them to manufacture all the iPads for Brazil domestically, and save them a ton of money in the long run.
As far as the latest iPad, Apple is still waiting on certification for both Brazilian and Chinese produced models, so they will be unable to sell it in Brazil until that happens.
All Chinese produced models will carry the BZ/A suffix on their model numbers while Brazilian models would have the BR/A suffix.