VW is preparing an investigation into possible rule violations at Audi's US factory, which will also examine the behavior of Audi boss Gernot Döllner and supervisory board chairman Manfred Döss.
The investigation is intended to clarify whether Döllner and Döss adequately informed the responsible committees about the investment project and whether an exception to internal rules for the election campaign appearance with Trump was justified.
Döss is also responsible for integrity and law on the Volkswagen board, which makes the investigation into the events particularly explosive.
According to the contracts, Audi can still withdraw construction of the factory, but is also keeping a possible expansion with additional investments and jobs open.
Dusseldorf. The joint appearance with US President Donald Trump was intended to pave the way for Audi to have its first US factory. Now he employs the VW Group's inspectors. Audi is a wholly owned subsidiary of the second largest car manufacturer in the world.
According to information from Handelsblatt from corporate circles, an investigation into possible rule violations in connection with Audi's US plans is in preparation. The actions of Audi boss Gernot Döllner and Audi's supervisory board chairman Manfred Döss are also likely to come into focus.
What needs to be clarified, among other things, is whether Döllner and Döss adequately informed the responsible committees about the negotiations before the trip and whether the Audi boss was allowed to announce the work in this form without their consent.
According to an insider, several reports about the incident have been received in the company's whistleblower system. An initial plausibility check has therefore already taken place. External experts should be brought in for further clarification. It is not yet known whether a law firm has already been commissioned and started the investigation.
A supervisory board meeting on the topic is to be convened next week. An invitation is still pending. The date could also be postponed again.
According to information from company circles, the driver of the investigation will be the employee side. A spokesman for the supervisory board at VW and a spokeswoman for Audi declined to comment. A spokesman for the group works council also did not want to comment.
The audit committee of the highest control body of Europe's most powerful car company, which is headed by family-friendly Austrian manager Marianne Heiß, would be responsible. The envisaged investigation goes beyond the dispute over a politically controversial appearance. It's about whether the Audi leadership has complied with internal rules and sufficiently involved the responsible control bodies.
Döllner presented plans for Audi's first US plant together with US President Trump at a campaign event in Georgia on October 24th. The factory is scheduled to open in the early 2030s. However, neither the financing of the project nor the customs relief that is crucial for it have been finally secured.
Volkswagen's supervisory board must decide on the billion-dollar investment. According to Handelsblatt information, the entire committee has not yet been officially informed about the US plans. Only the eight-member executive committee received an initial, rudimentary overview at an informal meeting on October 23rd, two days before Döllner's appearance.
According to company sources, the exact scope of the upcoming investigation has not yet been determined. This can also come to the conclusion that Döllner and Döss acted in accordance with the rules. In addition to Döllner and Döss, Audi's production boss Gerd Walker and Marco Schubert, the group's new North American boss, who previously headed Audi sales, were present at the election campaign meeting.
At Audi, Döllner had to explain the events at an extraordinary supervisory board meeting. Manfred Döss's role is also explosive. The head of the Audi supervisory board is also responsible for integrity and law on the Volkswagen board. This means that the actions of the manager who is supposed to monitor compliance with the rules at the group level are at issue.
At the center of the criticism is Audi's “Booklet of Policies”. The company commits itself to neutrality in its dealings with parties and interest groups. In the last three months before an election, publicly effective appointments with parties or politicians standing for election as well as the sponsorship of corresponding events are prohibited.
Döllner, on the other hand, appeared at Trump's side a good week before the US midterm elections. In order to make participation possible, the Audi boss is said to have previously obtained the consent of his board colleagues for an exception. This approach is defended in Audi circles: In principle, internal company rules can be deviated from as long as applicable law is not violated.
However, it is questionable who is allowed to approve such an exception - and which control bodies have to know about it. “This is also crucial for the future,” says one decision-maker. The purpose of the investigation is to clarify whether those responsible acted in the company's interests and within their authority.
Contract documents reported by Handelsblatt show how binding Audi's US plans have been so far. Accordingly, the car manufacturer could still pull out even after signing the settlement agreement if the inspection of the property turns out to be unsatisfactory from its point of view. This right applies until the transaction is completed, which the parties are aiming for in mid-2027.
At the same time, Audi is securing scope for expansion: by the end of 2033, the company can activate a second phase with a further three billion dollars in investments and 3,000 additional jobs. The documents describe both a possible withdrawal and a significantly larger factory. It remains unclear whether and to what extent Audi will implement the plans. Such an approach is not unusual. Expansion options are also contractually agreed at other locations.
According to current plans, 200,000 off-road vehicles will be built each year near the city of Macon and 4,500 people will work. Audi declined to comment on the contractual details of the deal, citing the confidentiality of the agreement and discussions with the US government.
In total, Audi is budgeting four billion dollars for the plant in its first expansion stage. Georgia is funding the project with almost one billion, plus federal funds of an unknown amount and possibly customs relief for Audi. “Without tariff relief, Audi will not build a plant in the USA,” says an insider.
According to Handelsblatt information, Audi received a verbal promise from US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick for relief in the event of an investment. The prerequisite for this is said to have been that Döllner presented the work together with Trump at a campaign event.
According to Handelsblatt information, Audi pushed for the tariff rate for EU imports to be halved from 15 to 7.5 percent. An agreement of around ten percent is expected. “Trump doesn’t want to go below double digits,” said an insider shortly after the talks. It remains unclear which models and corporate brands could benefit from such a regulation and under what conditions.
After the midterm elections, the political situation has changed. In Georgia, Democrat Jon Ossoff defended his Senate seat. The Democrats also won the governorship with Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Bottoms is also likely to be interested in a billion-dollar factory and thousands of jobs. However, the federal government in Washington is deciding on the crucial tariff relief.
It remains unclear whether and when Trump will implement the promised relief measures - and what role the election outcome in Georgia will play in this. A response from the White House to a request from Handelsblatt is still pending.
