China's sales decline and Trump's tariffs hit! Audi increases investment in the United States

According to reports from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, U.S. President Trump defended his tariff policy at an election campaign in Perry, Georgia on the 24th, and announced that Audi, a brand of Germany's Volkswagen Group, will spend US$4.2 billion (NT$136.53 billion) to build the first assembly plant in the United States in Macon, the fifth largest city in the state, becoming the latest investment by a major global automaker in the United States.

Trump said: "I am very happy to announce that a great company will make a huge investment in automobile manufacturing in the great state of Georgia. This factory will produce 200,000 cars a year. Construction of the factory will begin next month. If you think about it, 200,000 cars a year, that is really amazing. This will be the largest single investment in the history of the contemporary American auto industry. Without tariffs, they would not come to the United States."

Audi CEO Gernot Dollner, who accompanied Trump on the podium, said: "We plan to bring our largest and most luxurious SUV to the United States and build it in Macon. This is a long-term investment because we believe in the American market."

Audi noted that the plant will employ about 4,500 workers and is expected to begin mass production in the early 2030s.

Audi's investment plan in Georgia is a big victory for Trump. In the midterm election on November 3, the state is a fierce battleground. Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, who is running for re-election, will face Republican opponent Mike Collins. Ossoff is currently in the lead in support. The Republican gubernatorial candidate, billionaire Rick Jackson, and the Democratic candidate, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha L. Bottoms, are equally supportive.

Audi is the only German brand that does not have an assembly plant in the United States. Its sister brand Volkswagen and rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz all have factories in the southern states of the United States and export to the world. That makes it difficult for Audi to avoid U.S. tariffs. Audi was forced to raise the prices of several models in 2025 to offset tariffs, which resulted in a profit drop of about 1.2 billion euros (NT$43.71 billion). It is expected to face the same situation this year.

As the cost of U.S. tariffs increases, Audi has faced declining sales in China as Chinese consumers have switched to buying local brands in recent years. Audi's sales in China will drop by 19% annually in 2025, which has become the main reason for Audi's investment in setting up a factory in the United States.