Audi to invest $4 billion in its first U.S. plant, in Georgia
The German automaker's announcement says nothing about Mexico, where it already builds the Q5 at San José Chiapa, in Puebla state.
Audi will build its first U.S. production plant in Georgia, a roughly $4 billion investment that the German automaker says will create about 4,500 jobs. It announced the plan on Sunday.
The factory, at the Middle Georgia Mega Site, will be able to turn out up to 200,000 vehicles a year, all of them premium SUVs designed for North American buyers. The U.S. is Audi's second-largest premium market, and the company calls the plant the third pillar of its production network, alongside Europe and China.
Timelines differ depending on who is telling them. Audi expects to start construction in 2027 and begin production in the early 2030s. Gov. Brian Kemp's release, issued a day earlier, places the site in Peach County and is more specific: grading in 2027, construction in 2028 and full production in 2031. It gives no figures for tax incentives.
Audi's announcement makes no mention of Mexico.
In Mexico, the brand builds the Q5 at its San José Chiapa plant in the state of Puebla. Audi has not said which models will come out of Georgia or how it will split output between the two plants once the new one opens. Gerd Walker, the board member for production and logistics, would say only that building from scratch lets the company "rethink manufacturing from day one."
Before any cars roll out, there will be classes. Georgia Quick Start, the state's workforce training program, will design a custom training center, and the Technical College System of Georgia will teach at local campuses while it is built.
