Audi plans to build the Q7, Q8 and Q9 at its proposed $4 billion factory near Macon, Georgia, CEO Gernot Döllner has said in an interview with Automotive News. The site would be Audi-only, with roughly half of its output staying in the US market.
The investment has not been signed off. It still needs approval from Volkswagen Group's supervisory board, and Döllner expects a decision by the end of the year. Construction is scheduled to start in 2027, with vehicle production in the early 2030s.
Three large SUVs, no electric models
The Q7, Q8 and Q9 form the backbone of the Georgia line-up. All three will have combustion engines, and plug-in hybrids are part of the plan; fully electric SUVs are not. The Q9, the first ever, is aimed at full-size luxury SUVs such as the BMW X7 and Mercedes GLS, giving Audi a belated entry at the top of that segment.
The plant is designed for up to 200,000 vehicles a year and around 4,500 jobs. Audi considered building at Volkswagen's Chattanooga, Tennessee, factory and at Scout Motors' upcoming Blythewood, South Carolina, site before deciding to start from scratch.
Choosing large petrol and plug-in hybrid SUVs rather than EVs is a pragmatic bet on where Audi's American volume sits today. It also leaves the brand's electric range dependent on imports for longer, which is the exposure the factory is meant to reduce.
Timing puts a facelift in between
The schedule is long. Audi has already revealed the next-generation Q7 and the Q9, and by the time Georgia production begins in the early 2030s both will likely have had a mid-cycle facelift. Until then, the Q7 and Q9 will be sourced from Audi's Bratislava plant in Slovakia.
The Q8 will also get a second generation, announced earlier this year, and will eventually be assembled in Georgia; until then it continues to come from Bratislava. The next-generation Q8 has not been revealed, though Döllner has said it will break cover in the "nearer future". A Q8 successor was not part of the plan until Audi's new top management changed course.
Smaller models stay imported. Audi USA will keep bringing the Q5 from San José Chiapa in Mexico, and Q3 production for the US continues at Győr in Hungary at least during the Georgia plant's initial phase. That leaves open the possibility of a US-built Q3 later, but no decision has been finalised.
Tariffs are the backdrop
Audi currently serves American buyers with vehicles shipped from Europe and Mexico, which leaves it exposed to import tariffs that have weighed on Volkswagen Group's finances. Local assembly should help it sidestep duties on imported finished vehicles, though the real benefit will depend on sourcing, supply chains and the trade rules in force when the plant opens.
That caveat matters more than the headline number. A factory only shields a brand from tariffs if enough of the value in each vehicle is created locally, so where batteries, motors and components come from will shape the saving as much as the assembly line does.
For buyers, the practical effect is a long wait: the models earmarked for Georgia are already on sale or revealed, and the US-built versions will arrive a generation later. The plant's approval, expected by year-end, is the next milestone to watch.
