On October 14th, local time, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Audi plans to build a vehicle assembly plant in Georgia with a total investment of $4 billion (approximately 26.7 billion RMB). This factory is capable of producing up to 200,000 SUVs per year.
Audi said that this project will create about 4,500 jobs. The factory is planned to start construction next year, with production expected to begin in the early 2030s.
When Trump announced this news, he was trying to gain the support of American voters for the Republican Party in the mid-term elections on November 3rd. This state is one of the key swing states. Trump lost Georgia in 2020, but managed to win that state in 2024.
The candidate for Governor of Georgia, a Republican, attended this rally. He expressed gratitude to Trump for announcing this investment plan: “On behalf of Georgia, I thank you. Today, you have brought us the largest economic project in Georgia’s history.”
However, polls show that due to high prices and ongoing conflicts with Iran, voters are generally dissatisfied. The Republican Party is prepared to face a loss in the mid-term elections on November 3rd.
Trump has been pressuring car manufacturers to move their production capacity to the United States, and has already imposed tariffs on cars, steel, aluminum materials, and automotive components.
This official announcement was made at a ceremony in Perry City, near Macon in central Georgia. A golden Audi car with a manufacturer’s test plate was parked outside the Trump rally venue. Audi is part of the Volkswagen group, and this is their first vehicle assembly plant in the United States.
Due to the tariffs implemented by Trump last year, Audi imported all its vehicles in the United States from Europe or Mexico. As a result, the company suffered an economic loss of 1.2 billion euros (approximately 9 billion RMB).
Currently, the elections for the U.S. Senate seats and governors in Georgia are highly competitive. Trump is eager to prove that his proposed auto tariffs benefit the American economy. However, critics argue that the tariffs have increased the prices of cars, and trade uncertainties have led some automakers to shelve their investment plans.
Audi Global CEO Günter Decker said on site: 'We plan to produce our largest and most high-end SUV models in Macon, Georgia. This is a long-term investment, as we have a strong belief in the American market.'
An American official revealed to Reuters that this factory will assemble three SUV models: the Audi Q7, Q8, and Q9.
This American official also said that Audi plans to produce 25,000 cars per year in neighboring South Carolina, with some models originally produced in Europe being used for export.
These vehicles will be housed in a $2 billion factory that is being built under the Volkswagen off-road brand, Scout Motors. The factory is located near Blaiswood, in Columbia, the capital of South Carolina.
Trump cut government subsidies for electric vehicles, resulting in a significant decline in the production capacity of electric vehicles and batteries in the United States. Since Trump took office last year, the number of jobs in the US automotive industry has decreased.
Audi has seen a continuous decline in sales for two years. Due to fierce competition in the Chinese market and the double impact of U.S. tariffs, sales in the first half of 2026 decreased by 7%. Sales in Audi's U.S. market also fell by 16% compared to the same period last year. The Audi factory in Neckarsulm, in southwestern Germany, is one of the four factories owned by Volkswagen Group in Germany that are at risk of being shut down after 2030.
In July of this year, Japanese automaker Toyota announced that it will invest $3.6 billion to build a new assembly line for pickup trucks in its facility in San Antonio, Texas. This new line will have a capacity of 232,000 square meters, allowing Toyota to transfer some of its pickup truck production from Mexico to the United States. Toyota stated that the expansion project will be completed by 2030, creating additional 2,000 jobs.
Honda Motor is evaluating the construction of a full-scale factory in the United States. However, it warns that if the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is not renewed, the factory construction plan may be delayed.
South Korean Hyundai Motors stated last year that if the prospects of the US-Mexico-Canada agreement become clear, it will immediately initiate new investments in the United States worth over $20 billion.
The New York Times pointed out that such investment projects carry risks. Many automakers, including Volkswagen, already have factories with idle production capacity, which undermines their profits.
