The project of an Audi factory in the USA has been postponed
- Audi (a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group) has reportedly postponed its plan to build an assembly plant in the United States. This project, announced last year, was prompted by new tariffs imposed by the American administration on cars imported from Europe, Mexico, and Canada.
- Unlike BMW and Mercedes, which already have assembly plants in the United States to produce their locally sold SUVs (BMW X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, XM and Mercedes GLB, GLE, GLE Coupé, GLS), Audi has to sell its Q3, Q4, Q6, Q7, Q8 SUVs from the European continent and the Q5 from Mexico.
- It is clear that with the new customs duties imposed on vehicles imported from Europe or Mexico, Audi SUVs are no longer competitive in the USA compared to BMW and Mercedes SUVs which are not subject to customs duties since they are produced locally.
- To justify the postponement of its project, Audi cites the impossibility of financing this significant additional investment, given the carmaker's deteriorating situation in the United States, precisely because of the new customs duties which have reduced Audi's sales in the country and consequently its revenues and profits. But the instability of the measures taken by the American administration could also weigh on this factory project: Will the new tariffs remain in place (see court decisions that challenge them)? If so, at what level?
- In any case, the timing for building an Audi factory in the USA may not have been the best, as Volkswagen is currently building a two billion dollar assembly plant in South Carolina for its subsidiary Scout Motors.