Audi is expanding its manufacturing footprint to the United States for the first time, with a new plant in central Georgia.
Automakers across the industry have been making some major moves in the past few years — particularly in the American South. Beyond plants that have already been in the region for awhile, manufacturers like Hyundai recently opened a large plant in Georgia (a complement of sorts to Kia’s West Point facility that’s also in the state), and now Audi is also coming to Georgia. Over the weekend, the company announced a $4 billion effort to build a new plant near the city of Perry, with construction slated to begin in 2027.
Audi says the plant will eventually go online in the early 2030s, focusing on building the brand’s premium SUVs for the North American market. It’s a move that the company is making as it emphasizes America as one of its most important markets, and as on-and-off and fluctuating tariffs take their toll on manufacturers that exclusively import their vehicles, as Audi currently does.
In its announcement, Audi promised to invest $4 billion in the plant, with this new facility being one of its largest anywhere in the world. By the time the project is complete, the new Georgia plant could employ around 4,500 workers and produce up to 200,000 vehicles annually.
Right now, Audi builds its large SUVs in Bratislava, Slovakia, then sends them over to the United States. This shift in the 2030s could onshore most of the brand’s SUVs specifically to fill demand in the North American market — a strategy similar to what BMW does with most of its X-branded SUVs in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Audi’s own production plans for the upcoming factory will reportedly hinge around the Q7, Q8 and Q9 (again, the larger and more profitable vehicles in the brand’s portfolio). While we are still a few years off at this point, the company and its executives stress this plant’s position as critical to expanding future growth for the Audi brand in America.
