Audi to build $4 billion SUV plant in Georgia, its first in the US: Q7, Q8 and Q9 from the early 2030s

Audi plans a $4 billion car plant in Perry, near Macon, Georgia, its first assembly plant in the United States, with capacity for 200,000 SUVs a year, Reuters reported in a story carried by Business Recorder on 25 October. President Donald Trump announced it at a campaign rally ahead of the 3 November midterm elections.

At Saturday's interbank rate of about Rs 276.8 to the dollar, the investment is roughly Rs 1.1 trillion (see our dollar rate page).

The plan

"We are planning to bring our biggest and most premium SUVs, and produce them here in Macon, Georgia," Audi chief executive Gernot Doellner said. Audi also plans to build 25,000 vehicles a year at the $2 billion Scout Motors plant under construction at Blythewood, South Carolina, some of them for export.

Why now: tariffs

Audi, part of Volkswagen, makes none of its US cars in America today; every one comes from Europe or Mexico. Trump's tariffs on cars, steel, aluminium and parts cost the brand 1.2 billion euros last year (about Rs 372 billion at today's euro rate). Audi's global sales have fallen for two years and were down 7% in the first half of 2026; US sales are down 16% this year.

Republican Senator Bernie Moreno said the plant "would never have happened without tariffs". Critics say the tariffs have pushed up car prices and that trade uncertainty has delayed other carmakers' investments; US jobs in vehicles and parts have fallen since Trump took office.

Other carmakers are moving too: Toyota plans a $3.6 billion truck line in San Antonio, Texas, with 2,000 jobs by 2030, while Honda and Hyundai say bigger US investments depend on an extension of the USMCA trade deal with Canada and Mexico.

Is there a Pakistan link?

Audi's big SUVs reach Pakistan as imports, mostly from Europe, and are priced mainly by the exchange rate and import duties, not by where they are built. A Georgia plant would not change that this decade. If you are importing or registering a car, check costs with our car registration tax calculator.