Audi, Volkswagen’s luxury brand, plans to invest $4 billion in Georgia to build its first U.S. plant after it reportedly considered building a “twin plant” in Chattanooga.
Volkswagen has room to expand at its Chattanooga plant, the only U.S. production facility for the German brand. After President Donald Trump and Audi CEO Gernot Dollner announced the Georgia plant at a rally in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday ahead of midterm elections, the odds of Audi production in Chattanooga seemed small. The Chattanooga plant produces the VW Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs.
“We are excited about the future of Volkswagen in Chattanooga and are working to support them with the new Atlas and hope to work with the company on expansion opportunities in the future,” Charles Wood, CEO of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, said in an emailed statement. “We also anticipate that Audi’s U.S. location has the potential to bolster the automotive supply chain in the greater Chattanooga region.”
Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp said he never spoke with Audi officials about a proposal for Chattanooga. The Audi plant near Macon would have an annual production capacity of up to 200,000 vehicles and create around 4,500 jobs, Audi said in its announcement.
The plant would be built at the 1,500-acre Middle Georgia Megasite in Peach County beginning in 2027. The Volkswagen site at Enterprise South Industrial Park in Chattanooga covers around 1,400 acres.