Audi's US plant plan draws German criticism

2026-10-27 · Politics · Germany · Japan

Audi's plan to open its first US factory in a $4 billion investment drew criticism in Germany after its boss appeared at a rally with Donald Trump days before the US midterm elections, announcing billions of dollars of investment in battleground states. The luxury carmaker credits Trump's tariffs for the move, which comes amid a massive auto-industry cull at home. Separately, Chinese-branded cars roughly doubled year on year in September to 12.7% of European sales, overtaking Japanese brands for the first time, and Subaru said it will go EV-only in Europe by 2028.

Why it matters：The episode shows how tariffs and election politics are reshaping where global automakers build cars.

Key points

• Audi plans a $4 billion first US plant.
• Its boss appeared at a Trump rally before the midterms.
• Chinese brands hit 12.7% of European sales in September.

Sources (original reporting)

• DW
• The Guardian
• The Japan Times
• Nikkei Asia

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