MACON, Georgia — Audi will build its first U.S. car factory at the Middle Georgia Megasite in Peach County, near Macon, an investment of about $4 billion — yaani $400 crore — that the company says will create about 4,500 jobs and build up to 200,000 premium SUVs a year, Audi confirmed in its own news release after President Donald Trump announced the plan at a campaign rally in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday, October 24. Governor Brian Kemp's office gave the same about-$4 billion figure; Trump put the figure at $4.2 billion and credited his tariffs, the Associated Press reported.
Source: Workers' Rights News, reporting AP, Audi's news release and Gov. Kemp's office
Audi CEO Gernot Doellner said the company will build its biggest and most premium SUVs in Macon, calling it a long-term investment in the American market, Reuters reported. A U.S. official told Reuters the plant is expected to assemble the Audi Q7, Q8 and Q9 SUVs.
Source: Reuters, reported by NNR Markets
The jobs are years away. Audi says construction starts in 2027 and production begins in the early 2030s; the state's timeline is more specific — site grading in 2027, construction in 2028 and full production in 2031, the state said. Georgia's Quick Start program will build a training centre and start classes before the plant is finished, Kemp's office said.
Source: Workers' Rights News (Audi and Georgia state timelines)
Audi currently has no U.S. assembly plant and imports the vehicles it sells in America from Europe or Mexico. Last year, tariffs cost the automaker 1.2 billion euros, or about $1.4 billion, Reuters reported. Trump, who has raised tariffs on imported vehicles, steel, aluminium and parts, said at the rally, in his words, that without tariffs the company would not be coming in — a claim about the reason for the decision that Audi's own release did not make; the company cited its long-term investment in the U.S. market.
Source: Reuters, reported by NNR Markets
The announcement came 10 days before the November 3 midterm elections, and AP reported it was timed to help Republican candidates in Georgia. Georgia's economic development department gives the state's biggest-deal title to Hyundai's $7.59 billion plant near Savannah, which promised at least 8,500 jobs, Workers' Rights News noted, reporting AP and state figures.