Audi Weighs $3B Second Phase for Planned Georgia Auto Plant

Documents released by the Mid-Georgia Gateway Development Authority show Volkswagen luxury brand Audi is weighing a second phase of its planned U.S. assembly plant in Peach County, Georgia, that would add about $3 billion in investment and 3,000 jobs by 2033, according to Reuters and records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Atlanta News First.

Audi announced on Oct. 25 plans for a $4 billion first U.S. plant near Macon that would produce 200,000 premium SUVs a year and employ about 4,500 workers when full production begins in the early 2030s. Combined with the optional expansion, the project would total about $7 billion and 7,500 direct jobs on the roughly 1,500-acre Middle Georgia Megasite, the outlets reported. Audi declined to comment, Reuters said.

Phase-one incentives and clawbacks

Draft economic-development agreements released under Georgia open-records law put phase-one incentives at a minimum of about $958.4 million, according to The Auto Wire. The package includes roughly $458.6 million in property-tax savings over 20 years in exchange for payments in lieu of taxes totaling about $295 million starting around 2028, plus state road work estimated at $224.5 million, site and rail grants, and a Quick Start training center.

Atlanta News First reported that Audi must create at least 3,600 of its phase-one jobs and invest at least $3.2 billion, or 80% of the $4 billion pledge, by Dec. 31, 2033, to keep the full incentive value. Site grading is expected in 2027, construction in 2028 and full production of 200,000 vehicles a year in 2031.

How a second phase would work

Phase two, which Audi can elect to pursue through the end of 2033 under the draft terms, would add another $3 billion and 3,000 jobs and trigger a second 20-year property-tax break with about $237.5 million more in local payments, Atlanta News First and The Auto Wire reported. Revenue sharing would send 57% of the payments to Peach County, 19% each to Houston and Macon-Bibb counties, and 5% to the City of Fort Valley.

The Auto Wire said the released copies were unsigned. Local parties have signed and the terms have not changed, according to the joint development authority, but the State of Georgia and Audi of America still must approve.

Reuters reported that Audi will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in state tax incentives and grants for the first plant, including the 1,500-acre site, about $458 million in tax incentives and more than $550 million combined for infrastructure, utilities and workforce programs. The wire also said U.S. officials have discussed tariff relief for automakers making large U.S. investments; Audi imports all vehicles sold in the United States from Europe or Mexico.

Developing: Audi has not publicly committed to building the second phase, and the State of Georgia and Audi of America have not yet approved the draft incentive agreements.

Sources: Reuters via Devdiscourse, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta News First, The Auto Wire