Audi announces billions

Audi Announces Billions in Investment in the USA October 25, 2026—In the city of Perry, Georgia, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Audi is investing four billion dollars in the plant. Approximately 200,000 vehicles are expected to roll off the assembly line there annually. "Believe in the American Market" Audi CEO Gernot Döllner confirmed Trump's statements and explained: "We plan to produce our largest and highest-quality SUVs here in Macon, Georgia." He added: "This is a long-term investment because we believe in the American market." The announcement by the German automaker plays right into the American president's hands. Midterm elections are scheduled in the USA on November 3, and his Republicans are threatening to lose the majority in Congress. Additionally, a gubernatorial election is taking place in Georgia. Trump wants to make it clear that his tariff policy is helping the US economy. Republican US Senator Bernie Moreno said the Audi plant "would never have come about without business-friendly regulation." Production to Start in the Early 2030s Critics, on the other hand, argue that the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have made cars more expensive and delayed investments. Audi currently imports vehicles for the US market from Europe and Mexico. The Ingolstadt-based company has had its own US plant on its wish list for more than a decade. According to Audi, the investment will create around 4,500 jobs. Construction of the plant in Macon is planned for next year, with production expected to start in the early 2030s. Around 200,000 vehicles are to be built annually. A US government official told the news agency Reuters that the Audi Q7, Q8, and Q9 models will be assembled at the Volkswagen subsidiary's plant. Furthermore, Audi plans to build 25,000 vehicles annually in neighboring South Carolina, partly for export. Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said that North America is an integral part of the future plan. The region is an important market for profitable growth. "A possible plant for Audi in the USA would create further prerequisites: localized products from the USA for the USA." Currently, Audi plays hardly any role in the US market. The tariffs introduced by Trump cost the automaker 1.2 billion euros last year. Audi's sales in the USA have declined by 16 percent so far this year. Critical Voices from Germany Regardless of the statements made by President Trump and Audi CEO Döllner regarding the construction of its own Audi plant in the USA, approval from the Volkswagen supervisory board is still pending, and the announcement is likely to cause quite a stir there. Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Olaf Lies said it was strategically correct to further penetrate the US market. However, this must not come at the expense of the German plants. "Growth in America must secure jobs and value creation here and must not displace them." The headquarters of the Volkswagen Group, to which Audi belongs, is located in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. IG Metall head Christiane Benner, who is also deputy chairwoman of the supervisory board at Volkswagen, called for binding perspectives for employees at all locations. A spokesperson for IG Metall said it was more than disconcerting for a German auto boss to act as a campaign helper for a US president who wants to turn German automakers into American ones. "Trump has never hidden what his goal is: he wants to weaken our domestic economy, above all the automotive industry; value creation and jobs are to move across the Atlantic, and his tariff policy is the tool for this," the IG Metall representative said. "That Gernot Döllner is extending his hand to Trump in this particular situation is hard to comprehend—especially since his own company is questioning plants and entire regions here at home." 50,000 Jobs to be Cut Volkswagen management and the works council are currently arguing over the automotive group's future course. VW CEO Blume wants to cut another 50,000 jobs worldwide by 2030. From 2030, production at four German plants will be under debate. This also concerns the Audi factory in Neckarsulm. haz/pg (rtr, dpa, afp)