Trump Unveils $4.2B Audi Plant in Georgia, Credits His Tariffs

President Donald Trump used a Saturday night rally in Perry, Georgia, to announce that Audi will build its first American factory in Middle Georgia, a $4.2 billion project he said will turn out 200,000 vehicles a year. Trump said construction would begin next month, according to The New York Times and local station 13WMAZ, which reported the announcement from the rally floor.

Trump called an Audi executive to the stage to back up the news, according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution political reporter Greg Bluestein, who posted from the event on X. The Times reported that Audi chief Gernot Döllner, after being called up by Trump, told the crowd the company will produce sport utility vehicles at the site.

President Donald Trump unveils the project from the stage of his rally, saying it’s a $4.2B project that Conan one day produce 200,000 cars a year from a Macon plant. He calls up an an Audi executive to trumpet the news. https://t.co/0GHdYeLS2Q pic.twitter.com/2OyUfIIbB1

— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) October 25, 2026

The plant is expected to assemble Audi’s Q7, Q8 and Q9 SUVs, vehicles now built overseas, a government official told Reuters, according to CNBC. The same official said Audi also plans to build 25,000 vehicles in South Carolina at the Blythewood plant Volkswagen’s Scout Motors brand is building there.

A Win Trump Credits to Tariffs

Trump tied the investment directly to his trade policy. “Without tariffs, they would not have been coming in,” Trump said, according to The New York Times. The Times noted that Audi currently imports every vehicle it sells in the United States from factories in Europe or Mexico, leaving it exposed to the 25 percent tariffs on foreign vehicles and parts.

Bloomberg News, as summarized by Investing.com, reported before the rally that Volkswagen is pursuing the U.S. expansion in hopes of tariff relief, citing a U.S. official familiar with the talks. That official said any relief that comes from continued discussions would apply industry-wide, not to Volkswagen alone, according to the report.

For conservatives who have argued for years that tariffs would pull factories back onshore, the announcement is the kind of concrete result the administration has promised. Critics, including economists cited by The Times, have warned that tariffs push prices higher. Saturday’s announcement gives the White House a tangible jobs story to point to as that debate continues.

Where the Plant Will Go

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the factory would sit about five miles west of Interstate 75, on the north side of Georgia 96 on the eastern edge of Fort Valley in Peach County. The paper said the site is about half the size of Hyundai’s electric vehicle plant near Savannah but can expand to about 2,400 acres, citing officials familiar with the negotiations.

Bibb, Houston and Peach counties, which jointly promote the site, each pledged $7 million earlier this year to market it and prepare it for industry, according to the AJC. The paper also reported speculation that the rally was moved from Macon to Perry, about 20 miles south, because Perry sits less than 10 minutes from the megasite.

Before the rally, an Audi spokesperson told the AJC she could not confirm an announcement, and Audi declined to comment to Reuters, according to CNBC. The figures for the investment, annual output and construction start were stated by Trump on stage.

Midterm Backdrop

The rally, hosted by the Trump 47 Committee at the Guardian Centers, came ten days before the Nov. 3 midterm election, according to 13WMAZ. The station reported that Trump also promoted Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson and U.S. Senate nominee Mike Collins during his remarks, and that country singer and Macon native Jason Aldean spoke before the president took the stage.

Volkswagen already operates a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but builds only the Atlas SUV there, according to The New York Times. A Georgia Audi plant would give the German automaker’s luxury brand its first American assembly line.

Sources

• CNBC (Reuters): Trump to announce plan by Audi to build factory in Georgia
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Audi to build Georgia factory near Macon
• The New York Times (via DNYUZ): Audi to Build Factory in Georgia, Trump Says
• Investing.com (Bloomberg): Volkswagen to build Georgia Audi plant
• 13WMAZ: Live updates from Trump’s Perry rally
• Greg Bluestein on X

Reporting by Daily Beltway.