Audi weighs US plant to placate Trump: report

German automaker Audi is reportedly considering plans to build a factory in the US to placate President Trimp and skirt tariffs on foreign imports.

The luxury brand is weighing whether to build a plant in the southern US, one of the more expensive options out of a number of scenarios being considered, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday.

Audi estimated the cost of building a new factory in the US could reach up to $4.6 billion, according to the report.

A spokesperson for Audi, which is owned by Volkswagen Group, said the company is considering various options when it comes to expanding its presence in the US. 

“We are confident that we will make a decision this year in consultation with the [Volkswagen] group on how this will look in concrete terms,” the spokesperson said. 

Trump’s 25% tax on foreign cars and auto parts has already hit German carmakers hard.

In April alone, they incurred additional costs of more than $500 million in their export business to the US, according to estimates from Germany’s auto industry lobby group.

While Audi currently has no production sites in the US, Volkswagen has a plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., and a facility under construction in Columbia, SC.

Meanwhile, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen are in talks with the White House on a potential import tariff deal – hoping to use their investments in the US as leverage for lowering rates, sources told Reuters.

Mercedes-Benz in May announced that it is moving production of its GLC SUV – the company’s second best-seller – to the US.

BMW has also discussed adding shifts and boosting output at its South Carolina plant to ease pressure from Trump.

Several other major automakers have taken steps to ramp up US manufacturing since Trump has taken office.

Jeep owner Stellantis announced plans to reopen its shuttered Illinois plant, while Honda is looking to shift production of the Civic from Japan to the US.

With Post wires