Trump and Audi announce $4 billion plant near Macon, Georgia

President Trump announced at a rally in Perry, Georgia on Saturday that Audi will build a $4 billion assembly plant near Macon, its first in the United States, and Audi chief executive Gernot Doellner spoke at the event to confirm the company will produce its largest premium SUVs there.

Why it matters: Audi imports every vehicle it sells in the United States from Europe or Mexico and took a tariff hit of about 1.2 billion euros last year, so a Georgia plant producing 200,000 SUVs a year is the company's structural answer to the tariffs, with construction to begin next year and production in the early 2030s.

Data as of Reuters report of October 24, 2026, updated 21:30 ET, read in full, with Bloomberg and TASS reports of the same event read in full. President Trump put the investment at $4.2 billion; Reuters reported $4 billion, and the jobs and timeline figures are Audi's own. The model mix and the South Carolina assembly detail rest on a single unnamed US official in the Reuters report. Correction, October 24, 22:04 ET: an earlier version of this item, written from partial reads of the Bloomberg and TASS reports, wrongly placed the rally in South Carolina and said Audi had not confirmed the plant and that no location had been given; the rally was in Perry, Georgia, the plant is near Macon, and Audi's chief executive confirmed it at the event.

President Trump announced at a campaign rally in Perry, Georgia on Saturday that Audi will build a $4 billion assembly plant near Macon, producing 200,000 SUVs a year in what would be the German brand’s first factory in the United States, Reuters reported. Audi chief executive Gernot Doellner spoke at the same event and confirmed that Audi plans to bring its biggest and most premium SUVs to production in Macon, calling it a long-term investment in the American market. Audi put the employment figure at about 4,500 jobs, with construction scheduled to begin next year and production starting in the early 2030s. Mr Trump put the investment at $4.2 billion and credited his tariffs for the decision.

The plant is expected to assemble the Q7, Q8 and Q9 SUVs, and Audi also plans to build 25,000 vehicles a year at the Scout Motors plant under construction near Columbia, South Carolina, a US official told Reuters. Audi imports all of its US market vehicles from Europe or Mexico, and Reuters reported that tariffs cost the company about 1.2 billion euros last year, while its US sales are down 16 percent this year.

Trump and Audi announce $4 billion plant near Macon, Georgia

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