Audi's $4bn Georgia Bet Puts CEO in Political Crossfire at Home

Audi will spend $4bn on its first US factory in Macon, Georgia, creating 4,500 jobs — an announcement its CEO Gernot Döllner delivered on stage beside Donald Trump, days before the US midterm elections.

Döllner appeared at the rally in Perry, near Macon, on Saturday. The move is highly unusual for a European executive during a hard-fought American electoral campaign. It has triggered a backlash in Germany from unions and politicians tied to Audi's parent company, Volkswagen.

"We are planning to bring our biggest and most premium SUVs, and produce them here in Macon, Georgia," Döllner told the crowd. He called the plans "a long-term investment because we believe in the American market". Factory construction is set to start next year, with car production beginning in the 2030s. The plant would build 200,000 SUVs annually.

Why did the appearance cause outrage in Germany?

Daniela Cavallo, head of the VW works council, criticised Trump's rally speech as full of "racism, sexism, transphobia [and] contempt for democracy", according to internal company communications released to German media. She said anyone who heard the speech and then saw Döllner join the event must "sink into the ground with shame".

Cavallo went further on the management's role. She said the investment deal and Döllner's appearance showed VW's leadership had allowed itself to be "turned into a puppet in the propaganda show of a highly dubious political figure".

Christiane Benner, head of the powerful German trade union IG Metall and deputy chair of VW's supervisory board, called Döllner's appearance "extremely embarrassing, politically unacceptable and unworthy of the company, but above all of Audi's employees". She accused him of being in "flagrant breach" of the company's code of conduct, "which expressly requires political neutrality in the run-up to elections".

Benner also issued a procedural warning: any major investment like the Macon plant must go before VW's supervisory board.

What does politics have to do with a car plant?

Isabel Cademartori, transport spokesperson for Germany's Social Democrats — part of the ruling coalition — called Döllner's actions a "disgrace", particularly "in view of the history of the Volkswagen Group", an apparent reference to VW's founding as a showcase company under the Nazis.

A German government spokesperson declined to comment, calling it "a business decision regarding where the company invests and, in this case, where the company's chief executive appears".

Trump is deeply unpopular in Germany. He has riled the country's political mainstream by vocally backing the far-right Alternative für Deutschland, which polls now rank as Germany's most popular party and which has actively courted Trump's support.

The timing sharpened the criticism. The 3 November election in Georgia could decide whether Democrats regain a Senate majority. Incumbent Senator Jon Ossoff faces Republican challenger Mike Collins in a state Trump won in 2024. Trump has argued ahead of the midterms that his car import tariffs are helping the US economy.

What does the deal mean for Audi's business?

The commercial logic is plain. Audi is the only premium car manufacturer without its own US factory. That leaves it exposed to Trump's 15% import tariffs, which cost it an estimated €1.2bn last year.

The domestic context is raw. VW aims to slash as many as 100,000 jobs and close plants in Germany, blaming competition from Chinese carmakers, US tariffs and the expensive transition to electric vehicles. Audi's Neckarsulm facility, which employs 15,000 people, is among four VW plants threatened with closure from early next decade.

"Each site must do its part in terms of competitiveness and the long-term strength of Audi," a company spokesperson said.

That contrast — 4,500 new jobs in Georgia while German sites face the axe — is what turned a routine investment announcement into a political crisis for Döllner, and the supervisory board's review of the Macon plan will be the next test of whether he can hold his position.