Audi eyes U.S. factory to nab ‘attractive’ subsidies, CEO says

Volkswagen-owned Audi is considering building a U.S. factory to take advantage of new federal subsidies, the carmaker’s chief executive said Friday.

In comments to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann said subsidies provided by the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act made the prospect of a U.S. factory “much more attractive.”

“Decisions have not yet been made, but the VW Group will probably make more cars over there in the future for the U.S. market,” Duesmann said.

The Inflation Reduction Act includes subsidies and tax incentives intended to stimulate domestic investment in a range of green industries.

It includes a $7,500 tax credit for U.S.-made electric vehicles that is designed to lessen the financial burden of ownership.

Audi is among a host of major carmakers that have invested heavily in electric-vehicle production in recent years.

They are chasing a recent surge in unfulfilled demand for such vehicles, a trend spurred by increasingly generous tax benefits in the United States and Europe.

Audi has committed to producing only electric vehicles starting in 2026 and has been upgrading two of its plants in Mexico to produce all-electric vehicles soon, according to Reuters.

It has yet to establish a factory of its own in the United States, although VW already produces the electric ID. 4 at a factory in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Agnes Schwägerl, Audi Group’s head of communications for international sites, emphasized that no formal decision has been made about a U.S. factory.

“The U.S. market is enormously important to us,” Schwägerl said.