Audi Plans $4 Billion Georgia Plant, Its First U.S. Assembly Operation, Trump Announces
President Donald Trump announced Saturday that Audi will build a $4 billion assembly plant near Macon, Georgia, that would produce 200,000 SUVs a year and create about 4,500 jobs, with construction set to start next year and production in the early 2030s.
PERRY, Georgia – President Donald Trump announced Saturday that Audi plans to build a $4 billion assembly plant near Macon, Georgia, that would produce 200,000 SUVs a year, according to Reuters. The plant would be the first U.S. assembly plant for Volkswagen’s premium brand, and Audi said it would create about 4,500 jobs.
Trump made the announcement at a rally in Perry, near Macon in central Georgia. Audi chief executive Gernot Doellner said at the event, “We are planning to bring our biggest and most premium SUVs, and produce them here in Macon, Georgia.” He added, “This is a long-term investment because we believe in the American market.”
Audi said construction is scheduled to begin next year, with production starting in the early 2030s. A U.S. official told Reuters the plant is expected to assemble the Audi Q7, Q8 and Q9 SUVs. Audi also plans to build 25,000 vehicles a year at Volkswagen’s Scout Motors plant in Blythewood, South Carolina, the official said.
Tariffs sit behind the move
Trump has pressed automakers to move production to the United States and has raised tariffs on autos, steel, aluminum and parts. Last year, those tariffs cost Audi 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion), according to Reuters, because Audi imports all the vehicles it sells in the U.S. market from Europe or Mexico. Critics say the tariffs have pushed up vehicle prices and that trade uncertainty has delayed some automaker investments.
Audi’s sales have fallen for two consecutive years and slid 7% in the first half of 2026, while its U.S. sales are down 16% this year, according to Reuters. Competition in China and U.S. tariffs have weighed on demand.
German workers want guarantees
In Germany, the announcement raised questions about jobs at home. Christiane Benner, head of the IG Metall union and Volkswagen’s deputy supervisory board chair, said a final decision on the investment would have to be taken by Volkswagen’s supervisory board, and that firm prospects for workers at all sites, particularly those in Germany, must be clearly defined. Olaf Lies, premier of Lower Saxony, Volkswagen’s second-largest shareholder, said growth in America must secure jobs and value creation in Germany and must not displace them.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, said late on Saturday that the plant “would never have happened without tariffs, without common sense regulations and without eliminating California’s ability to regulate fuel economy standards.”
Reporting based on coverage by Reuters.
