Audi plans $4 billion Georgia factory creating 4,500 jobs as Volkswagen faces tariff costs of up to €5 billion a year

Audi plans to invest $4 billion in its first U.S. factory, in Macon, Georgia, creating 4,500 jobs. The project comes as its parent company, Volkswagen, faces costs from U.S. tariffs on European Union imports.

Audi CEO Gernot Döllner announced the plant at a Trump campaign rally, an unusual move for a major European brand just days before the U.S. midterm elections. “We are planning to bring our biggest and most premium SUVs, and produce them here in Macon, Georgia,” he said, describing the investment as long-term because Audi believes in the American market.

The factory aims to produce 200,000 Q7, Q8 and Q9 SUVs a year, shifting some production from Bratislava, Slovakia.

Volkswagen has said the 15% U.S. tariffs on EU imports cost it up to €5 billion a year. The investment may add to tensions in Germany, where the carmaker has begun cutting as many as 100,000 jobs and closing factories.