Audi to spend $4 billion on first U.S. factory, in Macon, Georgia

Audi will spend $4 billion to build its first U.S. factory, in Macon, Georgia, according to The Guardian and Deutsche Welle. Audi confirmed the plan after President Trump announced it at a campaign rally in Georgia on Saturday.

The Guardian reports that Audi chief executive Gernot Döllner appeared with Trump at the rally. The Guardian calls it an unusual step for a large European brand, taken days before the U.S. midterm elections. The Hill says the rally was almost a week before the November vote.

Trump called it a "massive auto manufacturing investment" in Georgia, according to The Hill. The Guardian says the plant will create 4,500 jobs. A government official told Reuters, as relayed by CNBC, that it is expected to build 200,000 SUVs a year.

Deutsche Welle reports that Audi said car production would not start until early next decade.

The New York Times reports that Audi, a Volkswagen division, imports all its cars from Europe or Mexico and has been hit hard by U.S. tariffs. The Guardian says Volkswagen is also dealing with Chinese competition, the cost of shifting to electric vehicles, and job cuts at home.