Audi plans to invest approximately $4 billion in a large Georgia factory, marking the German automaker’s first production plant in the United States. The company has spent more than a year considering local manufacturing in response to tariffs introduced by the Trump administration and has now concluded that the time is right to proceed.
While BMW already produces thousands of vehicles in the U.S., Audi currently builds all of the vehicles it sells domestically at overseas facilities, leaving them exposed to tariffs. Those charges cost Audi $1.4 billion last year, a burden the company cannot continue absorbing indefinitely. Construction of the new plant is scheduled to begin next year, with annual capacity of up to 200,000 vehicles and production expected to start in the early 2030s.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the project at a campaign rally in Georgia, where Audi Chairman of the Board of Management Gernot Döllner joined him on stage. Audi says the facility will produce premium SUVs and help it “unlock significant growth potential in one of the world’s most important premium markets.” The company also views the site as a way to make North America the third major pillar of its global production network, alongside Europe and China.
The Middle Georgia Mega Site is expected to create approximately 4,500 jobs while opening additional opportunities for suppliers, training partners, and service providers. President Trump has said his tariffs are driving a revival in U.S. manufacturing and claimed during the Georgia speech that about $40 billion has been invested in the nation’s automotive industry, creating 30,000 new jobs.
“We have much greater ambitions for Audi in America,” Döllner said. “The United States is one of the world’s most important premium markets, and we have not yet realized our full potential. We are determined to change that — with premium products, a stronger brand and a competitive local production base. This is about building a stronger Audi business in America — not only about building a factory.”
Audi has not identified the models that will be assembled at the Georgia facility. Reuters reports that the lineup will include the Q7, Q8, and the all-new Q9, which appeared at the Georgia rally over the weekend. Audi has also reportedly considered producing as many as 25,000 vehicles at Scout’s planned factory in South Carolina.
“Building a new plant from the ground up allows us to rethink manufacturing from day one,” said Gerd Walker, Audi’s board member for Production and Logistics. “We can design highly efficient and flexible production processes, integrate advanced technologies and develop a strong local supplier network. Our ambition is to establish a benchmark for premium manufacturing that strengthens Audi’s global production network.”
The Georgia facility will give Audi a stronger local manufacturing presence against more than just BMW. Mercedes-Benz also runs a major production hub in Alabama, where recent investments are set to lift annual output to 340,000 units. The plant builds the Mercedes GLE, GLS, EQE SUV, EQS SUV, and Sprinter, and will begin producing the GLC late next year.
Audi’s planned Georgia factory will represent a roughly $4 billion investment and produce up to 200,000 premium SUVs annually beginning in the early 2030s. The facility is expected to create about 4,500 jobs while helping Audi reduce tariff exposure and expand in the U.S. market. Potential models include the Q7, Q8, and Q9, though Audi has not officially confirmed the lineup.
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