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Audi is taking a major step into the American market: the premium manufacturer from Ingolstadt plans to invest around 4 billion US dollars in its first dedicated US car plant in the state of Georgia.
The announcement was made on Saturday, 24 October 2026, at an election campaign rally by US President Donald Trump in Perry, Georgia. Trump appeared alongside Döllner and stressed in his speech that his trade policy was encouraging companies to move production to the United States. The timing of the announcement is likely to play well in the battle for the midterm elections on 3 November.
Audi chief executive Gernot Döllner justified the investment in his address by pointing to the company’s long-term ambitions in the United States: the American market is one of the most important premium car markets worldwide, but Audi has not yet fully tapped its potential there.
Production scheduled to start in the early 2030s
The plans envisage 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. Georgia was chosen as the location, according to the state authorities, (source in German) partly because of its established supplier industry, transport links and available skilled workforce. The option of expanding 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 ramp up in the early 2030s. The government of Georgia is naming 2031 as the targeted start of full-scale production.
With around 4,500 planned jobs, the project would be a major industrial undertaking for the region. Additional positions would be created at suppliers, logistics firms and service providers.
Large SUVs for the American market
The new plant is primarily intended to build large, high-priced sport utility vehicles. Reuters, citing a US government official, reports that the Audi Q7, Q8 and Q9 models are planned. Audi itself speaks of particularly large and high-end SUVs that will be 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 dependence on international supply chains and exchange-rate fluctuations. At the same time, Audi would be manufacturing closer to its American customers and strengthening its competitive position against carmakers with their own US production, the company emphasised in an official statement.
Trump claims success for his tariff policy
Trump has imposed additional tariffs on the import of cars and car parts and has 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 production on US soil economically more attractive. According to Reuters, Trump’s tariffs cost Audi around 1.2 billion euros last year.
However, it cannot be inferred from this alone that tariffs were the only factor behind 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 Volkswagen Group’s German sites. Additional production in the United States does not automatically mean job losses in Germany, but it does change the geographical distribution of future investment and increases the importance of North America.
Audi stresses that Germany and Europe will remain the industrial backbone of the company; the existing expertise in development, engineering and production is merely to be complemented by the new site.
According to public broadcaster Tagesschau, the IG Metall union broadly welcomes the stronger push into the US market, but at the same time is calling for binding long-term prospects for employees at German plants. The union also says that the final decision is still subject to approval by the responsible Volkswagen committees.
Georgia: an industrial hub with an automotive 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 multi-billion-dollar plant for electrified vehicles near Savannah. In addition, the high-capacity ports of Savannah and Brunswick allow vehicles and components to be transported 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.