Car Maker to move to the US

Build the kind of cars America wants in America using American workers? Brilliant idea. I wonder why some American company didn't think of that? Never mind. The American workers get the wages and the profits leave the country. MAGA!

I could have sworn VW has been making some cars here with year after year announcements of product lines to be made in America for the last 50 years.

Automakers have set up factories in the U.S. for many years, always non-union and always in "right-to-work" (for substandard wages and benefits) states.

It's nothing new.

Vambram said:

If Audi follows through with this, then this is good news that will bring good jobs to Tennessee, or any other state that they choose. Unfortunately, it looks like our liberal friends don't see it that way.

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Which "liberal friends" are those? See post #2. No doubt you think it is a "win" for Trump. What it is, is a dead giveaway that American managers and corporate executives who he's protecting with his tariffs couldn't pull it off. OK, we'll have foreign companies come in and make a profit that American executives cannot. That's good--more jobs for American workers. The profits go back overseas.

Vambram said:

Where do you want the profits to go? Isn't Audi a corporation with stocks on Wall Street and therefore doesn't their profits also pay dividends to shareholders?

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Audi is a German company and its stocks are traded on the Frankfort exchange.

Vambram said:

If Audi follows through with this, then this is good news that will bring good jobs to Tennessee, or any other state that they choose. Unfortunately, it looks like our liberal friends don't see it that way.

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Trump won't see it that way either.

from White House trade advisor Peter Navarro.....

“This business model where BMW and Mercedes come into Spartansburg, South Carolina, [sic] and have us assemble German engines and Austrian transmissions, that doesn’t work for America,” Navarro told CNBC on Sunday. “It’s bad for our economics. It’s bad for our national security.”

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Vambram said:

If Audi follows through with this, then this is good news that will bring good jobs to Tennessee, or any other state that they choose. Unfortunately, it looks like our liberal friends don't see it that way.

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I'm just skeptical, particularly after reading an article on it. First, there will be no decision made until 2026, and then, assuming they build new plants, it will be a few years before those plants start operations -- so we could be looking at 2030 before any cars are built.

Next, it looks as if one thing VW/Audi is considering is building both VW and Audi models, using the same drivetrains and chassis, on the same assembly lines. For example, the VW ID.4 is the same car underneath the skin as the Audi Q4 eTron. Since the ID.4 is already built in Tennessee, it would be quite easy to ship the "skin" of the Audi to Tennessee, and build that car together with the ID.4 on the same production line. It even mentions this is one consideration, with VW exporting less cars from the plant to other countries.

It is very possible that this is a part of Audi's plan -- that some of the SUVs that Americans love, and that are made for VW in Tennessee, will suddenly have an Audi "sister" car (same chassis and drivetrain) that they can build on the same line, for the US market. For example, an Audi version of the VW Atlas.

This is one of those "feel good" announcements where a company says they have "plans" but are making no actual investment and don't even have a site, yet; and they aren't even going to make a decision for another year, at a minimum. It is also worth noting that VW just a couple of years ago was the #1 automaker in the world and are quickly losing market share -- to the point they have had to shutter some German assembly plants and are even looking at selling them (possibly to Chinese auto manufacturers). Get back to me when VW has some solid plans about where they will build these cars and how much capital they will be investing.

I’ll vote for Trump’s third term if it gets me an A6 Avant that is 1) available in the US and 2) less than $80k.

Always in His Presence said:

World's second-largest automaker relocates production to U.S.©bernhardhuber.com​

On a recent earnings call, Audi CFO Jürgen Rittersberger (pictured) added that Audi plans to launch 10 new models in the US, with production locations to be announced in 2026. While no final decision has been made, sources speaking to German trade publication Automobilwoche say Audi is scouting three potential locations in the US. The frontrunner plant reportedly in consideration is in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where its parent company Volkswagen already builds the ID.4 electric crossover.​

MSN

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The Audi accounts for approximately 2%, less than 200,0,00, of all new car sold in America - 2024 sales actually declined by 14% when compared to 2023 which doesn't inspire much confidence!

The Volkswagen Group may be the world's 2nd largest car manufacturer (after Toyota) but Audi ranks 17th when it came to vehicle sales in the US for 2024!

Always in His Presence said:

Trump Effect: World’s 2nd Largest Auto Manufacturer Moving Some Production to the USA​

Volkswagen Group, the world’s second-largest automobile manufacturer, is preparing to move the production of its luxury brand Audi to the United States.​

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World's second largest carmaker to move manufacturing of luxury brand to US​

Volkswagen Group will be moving production to the United States for the German automaker's luxury brand, Audi.

TRUMP EFFECT: Mercedes to Shift More Vehicle Production to U.S​

Today, Mercedes-Benz announced it will move production of another vehicle to the U.S. — the latest result of President Donald J. Trump’s relentless pursuit of American manufacturing dominance.​

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The automaker will produce the vehicle at its Tuscaloosa, Alabama, plant following signals earlier this year that the company will make additional investment in its U.S.-based operations.​

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Mercedes isn’t the only automaker onshoring production as President Trump incentivizes making things in America again:​

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• BMW is considering adding shifts to boost production at its South Carolina plant.
• Honda plans to shift production of the Civic from Japan to the U.S.
• Hyundai announced a $20 billion investment — including $5.8 billion for a new Louisiana steel plant to support its U.S.-based vehicle production — amid their pledge to “further localize production in the U.S.”
• Kia plans to produce hybrid vehicles at its affiliate Hyundai’s Georgia factory.
• Nissan is considering moving production from Mexico to the U.S.
• Stellantis announced it will reopen its Belvidere, Illinois, plant to build a new midsize pickup truck.
• Toyota announced it will boost hybrid vehicle production at its West Virginia plant.

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Where are the American industrialists rushing to take advantage of this windfall opportunity? Why should it be foreigners who show us how to do it?