Audi's first US production plant: carmaker strikes deal with Trump
Audi is taking a major step into the United States: the premium carmaker from Ingolstadt plans to invest around four billion US dollars in its first own US car plant in the state of Georgia. The announcement...
Audi is taking a major step into the United States: the premium carmaker from Ingolstadt plans to invest around four billion US dollars in its first own US car plant in the state of Georgia.
The announcement was made on Saturday, 24 October 2026, at a campaign rally by US President Donald Trump in Perry, Georgia. Trump appeared alongside Döllner and stressed in his speech that his trade policy was prompting companies to move their production to the United States. The announcement is likely to play well in the battle for the midterm elections on 3 November.
Audi CEO Gernot Döllner justified the investment in his address by pointing to the company’s long-term ambitions in the US: the American market is one of the world’s most important premium car markets, but Audi has not yet fully tapped its potential there.
Production scheduled to start in the early 2030s
The plan is for an annual capacity of up to 200,000 vehicles and around 4,500 jobs. The plant is to be built at the Middle Georgia Megasite in Peach County, near the city of Macon. According to the state authorities, Georgia won out as a location partly because of its existing supplier base, its transport links and its pool of skilled workers. The option to expand the facility at a later date also played a role in the choice.
According to the company, preparatory work is due to begin in 2027, with series production to start in the early 2030s. The government of Georgia is naming 2031 as the target date for full-scale production.
With around 4,500 planned jobs, the project would be a major industrial development for the region. Additional posts at suppliers, logistics firms and service providers would come on top.
Large SUVs for the American market
The new plant will mainly build large, high-end sport utility vehicles. Reuters reports, citing a US government official, that the Audi Q7, Q8 and Q9 models are planned. Audi itself speaks of particularly large and upmarket SUVs tailored to the needs of North American customers.
For Audi, the move is strategically significant, as until now the company has imported its vehicles for the US market from Europe or Mexico. Local production would reduce its dependence on international supply chains and exchange-rate fluctuations. At the same time, Audi would be producing closer to its American customers and strengthening its competitive position against manufacturers with their own US plants, as the carmaker stresses in an official statement.
Trump claims the move as a success for his tariff policy
Trump imposed additional tariffs on imports of cars and car parts and repeatedly called on foreign manufacturers to produce more in the United States. For companies such as Audi, this policy increases the cost of imports, making local manufacturing more economically attractive. According to Reuters, Trump’s tariffs cost Audi around 1.2 billion euros last year.
However, this does not mean that the tariffs alone explain the choice of location: Audi also points to the long-term expansion of its US business, access to the sales market, the existing infrastructure and the regional supplier base.
What does this mean for Germany?
The decision raises questions for the German sites of the Volkswagen Group. Additional production in the US does not automatically mean job losses in Germany, but it does alter the geographical distribution of future investment and increase the importance of North America.
Audi emphasises that Germany and Europe are to remain the company’s industrial backbone; the existing expertise in development, engineering and production is merely to be complemented by the new site.
According to Tagesschau, the IG Metall union broadly welcomes the stronger push into the US market, but at the same time is calling for firm long-term prospects for employees at the German sites. The union also says that the final decision is still subject to approval by the relevant Volkswagen bodies.
Georgia: an industrial hub with a car-making tradition
Georgia has long been a centre of the American car industry. South Korean carmaker Kia has been producing in West Point since 2009, while Hyundai, also from South Korea, has built a multibillion-dollar plant for electrified vehicles near Savannah. Added to this are the powerful ports of Savannah and Brunswick, through which vehicles and components can be shipped internationally.
For Trump, the investment would be another trump card in his strategy of bringing more industrial production back to the United States. For Audi, it marks a step closer to one of the world’s most important car markets.