President Trump told a campaign rally in Perry on Saturday night that Audi will build its first American factory in Middle Georgia, and the German automaker's chief executive, Gernot Döllner, joined him on stage for the announcement.
Audi's own release put numbers on the project. The Volkswagen brand said it intends to invest about $4 billion and create roughly 4,500 jobs at a plant designed to build up to 200,000 vehicles a year at the Middle Georgia Megasite. The company called it a long-term commitment to the United States that would make North America the third major pillar of its production network, alongside Europe and China.
Trump told the crowd the plant would turn out 200,000 cars a year. "That's incredible," he said, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He put the price at $4.2 billion, while Audi and the office of Gov. Brian Kemp each said about $4 billion. Trump also used the speech to defend his tariffs, saying they had made the country richer, Bloomberg reported.
In a statement released by Kemp's office, Döllner said, "We have much greater ambitions for Audi in America, and Georgia will play a central role in making them a reality." In Audi's announcement, he said the company had "not yet realized our full potential" in one of the world's most important premium markets and that the plan was "about building a stronger Audi business in America," not just about building a factory.
The two announcements laid out slightly different schedules. Audi said construction would begin in 2027, with production starting in the early 2030s. Kemp's office said the company expects to start grading the site in 2027 and construction in 2028, with full production in 2031.
The plant would rise on the north side of Georgia 96, about five miles west of Interstate 75 on the eastern edge of Fort Valley in Peach County, the Journal-Constitution reported. The property covers 1,474 acres, according to WGXA in Macon. Kemp said the state bought the megasite and made more improvements to it "for just this purpose: to bring a job-creating, high-caliber automotive manufacturer to this region." His office said Audi cited speed to market, the workforce, access to consumers and proximity to an established automotive supply chain in choosing Georgia, and that the state's Georgia Quick Start program will develop customized training with the company and design a training facility.
The rally was meant to lift Georgia Republicans in tight statewide races, the Journal-Constitution reported. Trump was there for Rep. Mike Collins, who is trying to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff, and Rick Jackson, the Republican candidate for governor, WSB-TV reported. He has raised tariffs on autos, steel, aluminum and parts and pressed automakers to move production to the United States, and he is eager to make the case that the auto tariffs are helping the economy, according to Reuters.
Bloomberg reported Saturday afternoon that Volkswagen would build the Georgia factory and expand a facility in South Carolina, and that the company hoped the announcement could bring relief from tariffs that have severely eroded its profits. A government official told Reuters that the Georgia plant is expected to assemble the Q7, Q8 and Q9 SUVs and that Audi is expected to build 25,000 vehicles at the $2 billion plant Volkswagen's Scout Motors brand is putting up in Blythewood, South Carolina. Audi's release named no models and mentioned neither South Carolina nor the president.
The factory is years away from building its first vehicle, and tariffs have cut into Audi's business too. Its sales have fallen for two straight years as competition in China and American tariffs weighed on demand, and its U.S. sales are down 16% this year, Reuters reported. The same report said critics blame the tariffs for higher vehicle prices and that overall U.S. vehicle and parts employment has fallen since Trump took office. Audi, for its part, said a stronger presence in North America would help it reduce exposure to trade and currency risks.
Toyota said in July that it would spend $3.6 billion on a truck assembly line at its San Antonio campus and shift some truck production from Mexico, Reuters noted, while Honda is weighing a U.S. assembly plant but has warned it may not build one unless the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is extended.
Kemp, quoted in Audi's release, said Georgia had built a reputation as a place where global companies come to shape the future of their industries, and he called the company's choice "another defining moment in that journey." Audi said Germany and Europe would remain its industrial backbone. Its Neckarsulm plant in southwest Germany is one of four German Volkswagen factories facing possible closure after 2030, according to Reuters.