Audi picks Georgia for its first U.S. plant. Full production isn't due until 2031.

President Donald Trump took the stage at a campaign rally in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday and announced that Audi will build its first U.S. car factory nearby. The German automaker confirmed the plan in its own news release: about $4 billion, roughly 4,500 jobs, and up to 200,000 premium SUVs a year at the Middle Georgia Megasite in Peach County, near Macon.

Trump put the figure at $4.2 billion and credited his tariffs, the Associated Press reported. Audi's release and Gov. Brian Kemp's office both say about $4 billion.

The paychecks are years out

Nobody is getting hired at this plant next month. 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 announcement came 10 days before the Nov. 3 midterms, and the AP reported it was timed to help Republican candidates in Georgia, including Rep. Mike Collins, who is challenging Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Rick Jackson, the Republican candidate for governor, thanked Trump "for putting the biggest economic deal in Georgia history right here today." Georgia's own economic development department gives that title to Hyundai's $7.59 billion Metaplant near Savannah, which promised at least 8,500 jobs.

Kemp's office says pay for all roles will be competitive and well-paying for the local market, but it gave no figures. Neither release lists tax breaks or other incentives the state or local governments offered. The state says its Georgia Quick Start program will build a training center and start classes before the plant is finished.

Tariffs: the president's claim, Audi's math

Trump says tariffs brought Audi to Georgia. Audi's release doesn't mention tariffs or Trump. It says building in North America would "reduce exposure to trade and currency risks" and give Audi a third production base alongside Europe and China.

The company has reasons to want one. Reuters reported that Audi's U.S. sales are down 16% this year. Reuters also reported that critics say Trump's tariffs have pushed up vehicle prices, and that overall U.S. vehicle and parts employment has fallen since he took office.

Gernot Döllner, chairman of Audi's board of management, told the rally crowd, "This is a long-term investment, because we believe in the American market."

What union pay looks like next door

Audi belongs to Volkswagen, and Volkswagen's workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, already show what a union contract can do in the South. In April 2024, 2,628 of them, or 73%, voted to join the United Auto Workers, according to NLRB figures reported by CNBC. The National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that runs union elections, certified the result that month.

This February, those workers ratified their first contract with 96% support, NPR reported. It includes a 20% raise over the life of the deal, a $6,550 bonus, and top hourly pay of $39.41 for production workers and $49.86 for skilled trades by 2030. Volkswagen also committed to keeping the plant open through the contract.

We found no UAW statement on the Audi plant as of Sunday. For the union's latest fight with a Detroit automaker, see our story on GM's $20 billion stock buyback.

Georgia's last big foreign auto project carries a warning, too. In September 2025, ICE detained 475 people, most of them South Korean nationals, at the Hyundai-LG battery plant under construction in Ellabell, GPB and NPR reported. Who builds the Audi plant, and under what conditions, deserves the same scrutiny as who works in it.

What to watch

For workers in middle Georgia, the plant is a promise for the next decade, not a job this year, while hiring nationally has slowed. Watch for the incentive package to be made public, for actual wage numbers, and for whether Audi's Georgia workers get the same shot at a union contract that Volkswagen's workers won in Chattanooga.

Sources

• Audi to establish first U.S. production site in Georgia, investing $4 billion and creating 4,500 jobs, Audi AG
• Gov. Kemp: Audi AG Selects Georgia to Invest $4 Billion in First US Manufacturing Facility, Office of the Governor of Georgia
• Trump announces at a Georgia campaign rally that Audi will build a new auto factory in the state, Associated Press
• Trump set to announce plan by Audi to build US factory in Georgia, source says, Reuters
• Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, Georgia Department of Economic Development
• VW workers in Tennessee vote to join UAW in historic win for union, CNBC
• Joint statement from UAW and Volkswagen on certification of election results in Chattanooga, UAW
• In a historic vote, Tennessee Volkswagen workers get their first union contract, NPR
• ICE arrests at a Georgia Hyundai plant create new tension with South Korea, GPB/NPR