World's second-largest automaker relocates production to U.S.
As President Donald Trump had hoped, carmakers are starting to shift gears on manufacturing. But much of the industry reaction is centered on electric vehicles — technology Trump has repeatedly criticized, even as his trade policies help bring it stateside.
Volkswagen Group, the second largest automaker in the world in 2024, is preparing to join the growing list of automakers looking to rejig its US factories in response to the tariffs. The German automaler's luxury brand, Audi — which assembles most of its lineup in its home country, Hungary, Mexico, Slovakia, Spain, and China — is planning to make some of its crossover and SUV models in America. 'We want to localize more strongly in the USA,' a company spokesperson told DailyMail.com. 'To this end, we are currently examining various scenarios. We are confident that we will make a decision on this in consultation with the Volkswagen Group before the end of this year as to what this will look like in concrete terms.'
On a recent earnings call, Audi CFO Jürgen Rittersberger (pictured) added that Audi plans to launch 10 new models in the US, with production locations to be announced in 2026. While no final decision has been made, sources speaking to German trade publication Automobilwoche say Audi is scouting three potential locations in the US. The frontrunner plant reportedly in consideration is in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where its parent company Volkswagen already builds the ID.4 electric crossover.
Since the Audi Q4 E-tron shares a similar platform with the ID.4, the plant could be adapted relatively quickly to handle production without starting from scratch. Volkswagen also builds the Atlas and Atlas Sport at the Chattanooga facility, and several thousand vehicles from the plant are exported each year — boosting US GDP in the process.
Shifting production lines to make room for Audi models could slow some of those exports, but it would deepen the domestic supply chain. Another potential site is in South Carolina, where VW is breaking ground on a new factory to build electric-based pickups and SUVs under the Scout Motors name.
The third option remains undisclosed. An Audi spokesperson didn't immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment. President Trump has claimed that his 25 percent tariffs will revive American manufacturing after decades of decline. Some automakers are now localizing production of EV platforms they've already poured billions into — creating a reshuffling of global supply chains that aligns with White House goals, even if not with its messaging.
Audi is a great example: the company has been launching multiple electric concept vehicles and has bet heavily on customers going EV. Hyundai, too, has doubled down on building its Ioniq electric series in Georgia during the second Trump administration. Honda said plans to keep Civic Hybrid production in Indiana in response to the tariffs. Even startups are getting the message.
Jeremy Snyder, chief commercial officer of the newly-unveiled Slate electric truck company , told DailyMail.com that US EV manufacturing is a no-brainer. 'Building EVs for a new company is the only obvious solution,' Jeremy Snyder, the CCO of Slate told Daily Mail.com. 'Current EV problems are a education and infrastructure issues that are being corrected over time. 'For drivers, it is simply a better experience. You pull into your parking spot, you plug in, you wake up to a full "tank" every single day.'
Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
40 minutes ago
- Reuters
VIEW Analysts react to US-China trade agreement
SINGAPORE, June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that a trade framework and implementation plan agreed with China in London should result in restrictions on rare earths and magnets being resolved. China's Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang said earlier the two teams had agreed on implementing their Geneva consensus and would take the agreed framework back to their leaders. QUOTES: CHRIS WESTON, HEAD OF RESEARCH, PEPPERSTONE, MELBOURNE: "The devil will be in the details but the lack of reaction suggests this outcome fully expected. "While clearly a positive outcome, the lack of reaction in S&P500 futures, and the incremental moves seen in CNH or AUD, suggests achieving the framework on the Geneva agreement was fully expected – the details matter, especially around the degree of rare earths bound for the US, and the subsequent freedom for US produced chips to head East, but for now as long as the headlines of talks between the two parties remain constructive, risk assets should remain supported. "The reaction in Chinese equities could be telling and I suspect US equity futures will track developments here closely today."
The Independent
41 minutes ago
- The Independent
Arizona governor vetoes bill to ban teaching antisemitism in Arizona's public schools
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed a proposal that would ban teaching antisemitism at the state's public K-12 schools, universities and colleges and expose educators who violate the new rules to discipline and lawsuits. On Tuesday, the Democratic governor said the bill is not about antisemitism but rather about attacking teachers. 'It puts an unacceptable level of personal liability in place for our public school, community college, and university educators and staff, opening them up to threats of personally costly lawsuits," she said in a statement. "Additionally, it sets a dangerous precedent that unfairly targets public school teachers while shielding private school staff." The measure cleared the Legislature last week on a 33-20 vote by the House, including a few Democrats who crossed party lines to support it. It's one of a few proposals to combat antisemitism across the country. The proposal would prohibit teachers and administrators from teaching or promoting antisemitism or antisemitic actions that create a hostile environment, calling for the genocide of any group or requiring students to advocate for an antisemitic point of view. It also would bar public schools from using public money to support the teaching of antisemitism. Educators would personally be responsible for covering the costs of damages in lawsuits for violating the rules. Democrats tried but failed to remove the lawsuit provision and swap out references to antisemitism within the bill with 'unlawful discrimination' to reflect other discrimination. The bill's chief sponsor, Republican Rep. Michael Way, of Queen Creek, has said his proposal would create accountability when educators fail to protect students from the rise in antisemitism since the start of the Israel- Hamas war. Opponents say the bill aims to silence people who want to speak out on the oppression of Palestinians and opens up educators to personal legal liability in lawsuits students could file. Students over the age of 18 and the parents of younger pupils would be able to file lawsuits over violations that create a hostile education environment, leaving teachers responsible for paying any damages that may be awarded, denying them immunity and prohibiting the state from paying any judgments arising from any such lawsuits. The proposal would create a process for punishing those who break the rules. At K-12 schools, a first-offense violation would lead to a reprimand, a suspension of a teacher or principal's certificate for a second offense and a revocation of the certificate for a third offense. At colleges and universities, violators would face a reprimand on first offense, a suspension without pay for a second offense and termination for a third offense. The proposal also would require colleges and universities to consider violations by employees to be a negative factor when making employment or tenure decisions. Under the proposal, universities and colleges couldn't recognize any student organization that invites a guest speaker who incites antisemitism, encourages its members to engage in antisemitism or calls for the genocide of any group. Elsewhere in the U.S., a Louisiana lawmaker is pushing a resolution that asks universities to adopt policies to combat antisemitism on campuses and collect data on antisemitism-related reports and complaints. And a Michigan lawmaker has proposed putting a definition of antisemitism into the state's civil rights law.
Daily Mail
43 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Unhinged LA rioter dressed in makeshift tactical gear becomes laughing stock of protests
A protester in Los Angeles was taunted after storming the streets in makeshift tactical gear as she encouraged others to use a 'wind blower' as protection against tear gas. Other protesters caught the interaction on video and the clip circulated online, with many poking fun at the unidentified rioter's DIY gear. 'Why is she doing a bad cosplay of a minion from Despicable Me?' one commented on X. 'We need leaf-blower control legislation. Now!' another joked. 'Omg this has to be a satire protester lol,' a third said. The protester was asked on camera why she took to the streets and replied, 'This is our city and this was Mexico. You can't kick us out of the land that was ours.' When asked what the wind blower was for, she replied, 'That's for the f***ing tear gas. That's for the f***ing tear gas to blow it back at those motherf***ers. If you have a f***in blower bring it out. Push them back!' The protester then directed her attention to Donald Trump, and told the camera, 'You're just mad because Selma Hayek wouldn't give you the time of day b***h.' Los Angeles has been embroiled in protests since Friday as a political feud has broken out between Governor Gavin Newsom and President Trump (Pictured: Protesters come face to face during the protests on the 101 Freeway on Sunday) The video footage was taken as the California city has been embroiled in protests in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. The protests have become a political flashpoint as Trump deployed the National Guard to provide additional resources to law enforcement. Typically, the guard is only deployed at the request of the state's governor, and California officials are accusing the administration of an illegal maneuver. California officials have also claimed that Trump's use of the National Guard will heighten tensions in the streets. 'If I didn't 'SEND IN THE TROOPS' to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now, much like 25,000 houses burned to the ground in L.A. due to an incompetent Governor and Mayor,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday morning. Governor Gavin Newsom then filed an emergency motion in court to block military troops from infiltrating the city, arguing that the federal government was 'turning the military against American citizens.' A federal judge denied the state's request to prohibit Trump's administration from using the Marines and National Guard. 'This is unprecedented and threatens the very core of our democracy,' Newsom wrote about the filing on X. The administration announced the deployment of 700 Marines and 2,000 National Guard troops to break up the protests. The protests entered their fifth day on Tuesday with demonstrators sparking the days-long controversy with a gathering outside the Los Angeles Federal Building. The demonstrations heightened on Saturday with officials deploying tear gas against rioters. Some demonstrations across the city turned violent, with images emerging of cars on fire and police firing rubber bullets at rioters. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said over the weekend that some rioters arrived at the demonstrations with hammers, cinder blocks, and rocks. The violence prompted Trump to call for all demonstrators in face masks to be arrested on Truth Social. As protests continued to break out in California, 300 members of the state's guard responded with Homeland Security officers at the city's detention center. Federal officials formed a line outside the Metropolitan Detention Center to block protesters as demonstrators were hit with tear gas and pepper balls. Protests have spread to other cities, including San Francisco and New York, as Trump continues to defend the deployment of additional troops (Pictured: Police fire off rounds on protesters in front of the Federal Building in Los Angeles on Monday) Protesters even blocked Highway 101, which created chaotic scenes as officers fired munitions into the crowd. Over the course of the demonstration, at least 160 people were arrested, with a majority facing charges for failure to disperse. The demonstrations have spread throughout the US to other major cities, including San Francisco, where authorities said 154 arrests occurred. US District Judge Charles R. Breyer set a hearing for Thursday on the legality of the administration's deployment of the National Guard.
