Audi is to invest $4bn in building its first plant in the US as the Volkswagen Group seeks relief from higher tariffs that have eroded its sales and profits. The new facility in Georgia, announced by chief executive Gernot Döllner and US President Donald Trump at a rally in Georgia, is expected to produce up to 200,000 vehicles a year and create roughly 4,500 jobs when it begins production in the early 2030s.
"This is a long-term investment because we believe in the American market," Döllner said at the rally. Trump used Audi's investment to tout the success of the 15 per cent tariffs he has imposed on many EU goods, including cars. The levies are a flagship part of Trump's economic policy, but his trade war has come under fire from some Republicans in tight midterm Senate races as they try to distance themselves from the broader affordability crisis harming their election chances.
"By the way . . . 58 per cent of our auto business was gone. It's all coming back," the president said at the rally, adding later that Audi's investment would not have happened "without tariffs". Audi's investment also caps more than a year of negotiations between the Trump administration and the wider Volkswagen Group. Volkswagen chief executive Oliver Blume has pledged "huge investments" in the US in a bid to seal a separate deal with Washington that would lower car tariffs below 15 per cent.
The VW Group, which also includes Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini, has been hit hard by Trump's tariffs, with the three brands' deliveries to the US in the first six months of 2026 down 7 per cent against a year earlier. Europe's largest carmaker has embarked on a historic restructuring, including up to 100,000 job cuts, as it grapples with intense competition from Chinese rivals offering more affordable electric vehicles and hybrids. The US has emerged as a critical market for VW as it seeks to compensate for collapsing sales in China, but its share in North America remains low at 4 per cent.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing