Audi's CEO Joins Trump Onstage in Georgia to Make It Official: A $4 Billion, 4,500-Job Plant

Earlier Saturday it was a leak from unnamed officials. By Saturday night it was official, and the man who runs Audi was standing next to President Trump in Middle Georgia to say so.

"Today I'm thrilled to announce a massive auto manufacturing investment in the great state of Georgia by a fantastic company," Trump told the crowd at Guardian Centers in Perry, according to Fox News. "Audi has just committed to invest $4.2 billion in nearby Macon, Georgia to begin the construction next month on a massive plant that will produce 200,000 cars a year."

"Think of that. Think of that. 200,000 cars a year. That's incredible," he said. He thanked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for helping land the deal and brought Audi CEO Gernot Döllner and Audi of America President Vito Paladino up onstage. We reported the plan earlier Saturday, when it was still coming from officials speaking to Bloomberg and Reuters.

What Audi signed up for

The same night, Audi and Gov. Brian Kemp's office put the deal in writing. Audi will build its first U.S. factory at the Middle Georgia Megasite in Peach County, invest "around $4 billion" and create about 4,500 jobs, the company said in a media release datelined Ingolstadt and Perry. The plant is designed to build up to 200,000 premium SUVs a year for North American buyers.

"We have much greater ambitions for Audi in America, and Georgia will play a central role in making them a reality," Döllner said in Kemp's announcement. "Together, we want to create something that goes far beyond a manufacturing plant: a new home for Audi in America, opportunities for thousands of people and a strong foundation for long-term growth."

Audi called North America a "third major pillar" of its global production network alongside Europe and China, and said building here will help it "reduce exposure to trade and currency risks." That is the tariff math in corporate language. The Wall Street Journal's headline put it more plainly: Audi's first-ever U.S. factory comes "as tariffs bite."

The fine print on timing

The official numbers are a little more modest than the rally version. Trump said $4.2 billion with construction next month. Audi and the state both say about $4 billion. Kemp's office says Audi expects to begin grading the site in 2027, start construction on the facility in 2028 and reach full production of 200,000 units in 2031. Audi's own release says construction begins in 2027 with production in the early 2030s.

Trump also called it "the single largest investment in U.S. auto industry history, modern history." By dollars, Hyundai's electric vehicle plant near Savannah, announced in 2022 at $5.54 billion, was bigger. Either way, it is a German luxury brand that has never built a car in America choosing to start here.

"We are proud that Audi has selected Georgia as the home of their first U.S. manufacturing facility, delivering truly historic investment and jobs to middle Georgia," Kemp said. The state bought the megasite in 2022 for exactly this kind of project. Georgia Quick Start will build a dedicated training center and work with local technical colleges to train workers, the governor's office said.

Then he went after Ossoff

The plant was the good news. The rest of the night was a closing argument for Rep. Mike Collins, who is trying to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, and for Rick Jackson, the Republican nominee for governor against former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

"Jon Ossoff is a far-left extremist that votes to destroy everything Georgia values," Trump said as the crowd booed, the New York Post reported, tying Ossoff to the inflation and record illegal immigration of the Biden years. Trump said his administration had secured the southern border, and the crowd answered with chants of "USA! USA!" 41NBC reported.

Before the rally, Trump laid out the stakes on Truth Social. Collins and Jackson's opponents, he wrote, "want to Take Away Your Guns, Open Your Borders, Allow Men To Play In Women's Sports, and have Transgender nonsense for everyone."

Trump also needled Barack Obama, who campaigned in Detroit on Saturday for Michigan Democrats Abdul El-Sayed and Jocelyn Benson. "I saw Barack Hussein Obama was in Michigan and the place was empty," Trump said. "They don't talk about my crowds. They never talk about them."

On the economy, Trump told the crowd that more Americans are working than ever and credited his tariffs with bringing Audi to Georgia. He also urged communities to welcome the data centers being built for the SI boom. "You should be cool on data centers because you can make a fortune on them," he said, warning that turning them away could send the investment to China.

Where the race stands

Republicans have ground to make up. Ossoff leads Collins 48% to 40%, with 12% undecided, in the latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll cited by the Post. Ossoff spent Saturday afternoon launching a canvass in Atlanta with Pete Buttigieg focused on health care and living costs, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.

Jackson had first planned to skip the rally and campaign only with Kemp, then reversed course and showed up, according to the AJC. He and Collins both spoke near the end of the night. Trump wrapped up just before 9 p.m. with a reflective note: "We've been doing this for 11 years together and there's never been anything like it."

Election Day is Nov. 3. Trump heads to Port Huron, Mich., on Sunday.