Audi plans to build its first factory in the United States, an investment of about US$4 billion that would make the Q7, Q8 and Q9, its biggest SUVs, CNBC reported, while its parent Volkswagen restructures in Germany.
Donald Trump announced the plant at a campaign rally in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday 24 October, US time, with Audi chief executive Gernot Döllner on stage, according to Euronews.
Döllner spoke at the rally about why the company was making the move.
He told the rally, according to the Guardian: “This is a long-term investment because we believe in the American market.”
The site is the Middle Georgia Megasite in Peach County, near Macon, Euronews reported.
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What the Plant Would Build
The factory would have capacity for up to 200,000 vehicles a year, and roughly half would be exported outside the US, according to CNBC. The Guardian reported that it would create about 4,500 jobs.
Some production of the large SUVs would shift to Georgia from Bratislava, Slovakia, the Guardian reported.
The timeline is long. Preparatory work would begin in 2027, with series production in the early 2030s, Euronews reported, and the Georgia government names 2031 for full-scale production.
The Tariff Arithmetic
The case for the plant rests partly on tariffs. Audi imports every vehicle it sells in the US from Europe or Mexico, according to CNBC, and US tariffs on German vehicles stand at 15%, down from 25%.
Tariffs cost Audi 1.2 billion euros (US$1.4 billion) in 2025, CNBC reported.
Audi is also the last of the major German luxury brands to build in the US, after Mercedes-Benz and BMW, according to CNBC.
Its American sales have been under pressure. Audi’s US deliveries were roughly flat through the third quarter of 2026, after a 16% fall from 2024 to 2025, CNBC reported.
Other carmakers have also faced weaker sales. Tesla shares slid as its China sales hit a three-year low, as reported here on 14 November 2025.
Why a Rally
Döllner spoke to reporters on Sunday 25 October, US time, about how the announcement came to be made at a political event.
The Trump administration asked Audi to announce the plant at the rally, he said, and the company evaluated more than 70 locations before choosing Georgia, according to CNBC.
Döllner said, according to CNBC: “With respect of the office and country, we joined the invitation.”
He also set out the company’s ambitions for the US.
“We have significantly greater ambitions for Audi in America,” he said, according to CNBC.
Still Waiting on Approval
The plant comes as Volkswagen restructures at home. The group plans to cut 50,000 jobs and close four German plants, including an Audi facility, between 2031 and 2034, CNBC reported.
Döllner rejected the idea that Georgia comes at Germany’s expense.
“This is not a decision against Germany. Germany remains the backbone of Audi,” he said, according to CNBC.
The German union IG Metall broadly welcomed the push into the US but wants firm prospects for the German sites, Euronews reported. The union also pointed out that the decision still needs approval by the relevant Volkswagen bodies.
No such approval had been reported as at 26 October, and the Georgia plant remains a plan.
If Volkswagen approves it, preparatory work at the Peach County site would begin in 2027, with series production to follow in the early 2030s and full-scale production in 2031, by the Georgia government’s timetable.
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Sources: CNBC, “Audi defends plans for a $4 billion Georgia plant amid VW restructuring, tariffs”, 25 October 2026 (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/25/audi-georgia-us-plant-tariffs-volkswagen.html); The Guardian, “Volkswagen to build $4bn Audi SUV factory in US despite job cuts at home”, 26 October 2026 (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/oct/25/volkswagen-to-build-4bn-audi-suv-factory-in-us-despite-job-cuts-at-home); Euronews, “Audi’s first US production plant: carmaker strikes deal with Trump”, 25 October 2026 (https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/25/audis-first-us-production-plant-carmaker-strikes-deal-with-trump)
Photo: -wuppertaler, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The visitor centre at Audi’s main plant in Ingolstadt, Germany, in February 2022.
