23:56 19-12-2025

Audi shelves U.S. factory plan, weighs Chattanooga and Scout options

Audi has put plans for a standalone U.S. plant on ice. Manager Magazin reports the supervisory board took the decision in mid-December as the company seeks to cut billions of euros in costs over the next five years.

For now, Audi has no manufacturing footprint in the United States: most vehicles for North America are imported from Europe, while the Q5 is assembled in Mexico. That leaves the brand exposed to U.S. import tariffs, in contrast to BMW and Mercedes, which already build cars locally. Earlier, Audi weighed several paths, from setting up its own facility to a joint operation near Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant.

According to the outlet, the idea of a separate Audi factory has been set aside for the time being, but the goal of U.S. production remains. Options on the table include building at least one large SUV at the Scout brand’s plant now under construction, and potentially shifting assembly of the electric Audi Q4 e-tron to Volkswagen’s Chattanooga facility, where the ID.4 was previously built.

No final decisions have been made, and the group’s roughly 160 billion euros in investment plans are still being refined. It’s a cautious recalibration that aligns with the cost agenda, yet the uncertainty around Audi’s manufacturing footprint is already shaping strategies across the wider group and touching plans for new 2026 models aimed at the U.S. market.