Trump says Audi will build $4.2 billion plant in Georgia before midterms

Audi's planned Georgia plant

Donald Trump said at a campaign rally on 24 October that the German carmaker Audi plans to invest $4.2 billion in a factory in Georgia. According to Trump, the plant near Macon would produce 200,000 vehicles a year. Audi confirmed the investment in a press release, describing the unit as its first in the United States and saying it would create about 4,500 jobs. The output figure came from Trump's remarks, while the jobs figure came from Audi. The Volkswagen Group subsidiary said the project is meant to signal a long-term commitment to the US and to make North America the third-largest pillar of its global production network, alongside Europe and China. Construction is due to begin in 2027, with production starting in early 2030.

Tariffs push carmakers to expand in the US

Since Trump returned to the White House, General Motors, Toyota, Ford and other carmakers have announced plans to expand factories in the United States or to move part of their production home. The main driver cited is a 25% tariff on imported vehicles. Olaf Lies, the minister-president of Lower Saxony, where the Volkswagen Group has its seat, called a larger US output an opportunity, but only if plants and workers in Germany also benefit. He made the point in a press release. On 25 October, Audi chief executive Gernot Döllner defended the investment plan for the United States, according to reports published that day.

Trump's comments at the polls in Florida

On Saturday, 24 October, Trump cast an early ballot at a polling station in West Palm Beach, Florida, not far from his Mar-a-Lago property. Reporters asked him about corruption, an issue that has become a campaign theme for many voters. He said Republicans were resisting it and told voters to look at the corruption of Democrats. He again alleged widespread electoral fraud without presenting evidence and claimed there were invalid ballots in Los Angeles, a city considered a Democratic stronghold. The 80-year-old billionaire continues to deny that he lost the 2020 election.

Polls and congressional inquiries

The midterms are ten days away, and the party holding the White House has traditionally fared poorly in them. Polls cited by the reports show Republicans potentially losing control of the House of Representatives, and possibly the Senate too. Without a majority in Congress, Trump would have little room to push his legislative programme through the two years left in his term. Trump may face several congressional investigations, as Democrats have said they want to examine deals that he and relatives or associates made through the family holding company since his return to the presidency.

Where the story stands

Trump made the Audi announcement less than two weeks before the midterms, a vote the reporting describes as decisive for the rest of his second term. Audi's timetable runs to 2027 for the start of construction and early 2030 for the start of production. That means the plant is due to begin output after the two years left in Trump's current term.