Latest news with #JürgenRittersberger
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
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 '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 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 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 '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.
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Huge win for Trump as world's second biggest carmaker relocates manufacturing to US
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 '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 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 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's CFO, Jürgen Rittersberger, said the company hopes to launch ten new cars in the US in the next year Audi currently builds most of its cars in Europe, China, and Mexico 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 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 '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.'
Miami Herald
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Audi may build future EVs in the United States due to tariffs
Business Audi may build future EVs in the United States due to tariffs In a move aimed at adapting to the rapidly changing tariff-centric trade environment, German luxury automaker Audi is said to be adjusting its production plans to reduce its exposure to the policies set forth by the Trump Administration. According to a new report by Automotive News and its German affiliate Automobilwoche, Audi could use VW Group manufacturing assets in the United States to build its vehicles. Currently, most of Audi's U.S. lineup is imported from Mexico and Europe-a problem that could spell trouble for the automaker, as 25% levies went live on May 3. Sources told the outlet that Audi could build the compact Q4 E-tron EV crossover at VW's plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, while the bigger Q8 E-tron could see production moved from Mexico to the soon-to-be-completed Scout plant in Columbia, South Carolina. They also noted that Audi is looking for a potential U.S. site to build the Q6 E-tron. In a statement to the outlet, Audi did not confirm any plans to move production stateside. However, it reiterated that the U.S. is its "third global pillar" in its global growth strategy, alongside Europe and China. "We want to increase our presence in the U.S.," the spokesperson said. "We are currently examining various scenarios. We are confident that we will be able to decide on the specific details in consultation with the Group before the end of this year." The news comes as Audi posted a 12% year-over-year jump in quarterly revenue during Q1 2025, which it credits to increased sales of its EVs. From January to March, the brand took in 15.43 billion Euros (~$17.49 billion), an improvement from the 13.73 billion Euros (~$15.56 billion) a year ago. During the same announcement, Audi CFO Jürgen Rittersberger said the automaker is set to introduce 10 models for the U.S. market and that production facilities for these models would be decided later this year. Audi faces a challenging tariff scenario. Of the trio of German luxury leaders, including Mercedes-Benz and the Bavarian Motor Works, Audi stands alone as an "odd one out" because it currently does not have any manufacturing facilities in the U.S. While the X3 is built at BMW's sprawling manufacturing facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the Audi-badged rival is built south of the border. Audi's best-selling car, the Q5, is built at the brand's lone North American factory, in San Jose Chiapa, Mexico. Since it opened in 2016, the Mexican factory has produced over a million Q5s. In 2024, 56,799 Q5s were sold in the United States, accounting for more than a quarter of Audi's sales in the region. Related: Why Audi's Bestseller Might Vanish from US Dealerships Final thoughts This news underscores the logistical supply chain challenges that many automakers face, including ways to absorb the 25% tariffs on imported vehicles and car parts, which have come into effect fairly recently. Bloomberg reports that on May 2, the Trump administration announced that components that qualify for preferential treatment under the USMCA would be exempt from the 25% tariff. White House officials confirmed that Trump's move was made to help automakers relocate their parts supply chain to the United States. However, for Audi, it wouldn't be easy, as the Q5s it makes in Mexico are not USMCA-compliant. According to data from American Automobile Labeling Act (AALA) documents provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), just 2% of its parts are made in the U.S. or Canada-making them Q5 a giant red flag for tariffs. Related: Auto Insurance Industry Faces Up to the Self-Driving Car Revolution Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 1:23 PM.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Audi Hints at a Gloomy 2025
Audi reveals 2024 production and financial figures, painting a picture of a notable decline compared to the prior year. The automaker's closure of a Brussels, Belgium, plant early in 2025 came after a historic realignment by the VW Group and its labor unions in late 2024. Audi expects 2025 to be a "difficult financial year," citing a challenging and uncertain business environment. Audi endured a challenging 2024, which saw something rare for the marque and for Europe's auto industry as a whole: plans for the closure of a factory. The Brussels, Belgium, plant that built the Q8 e-tron and its Sportback twin was shuttered at the end of February, with Audi having been unable to find a buyer for the complicated site. The automaker had blamed a global decline in orders for the large electric model throughout 2024, but the location of the plant near the city center had also played a role, making retooling for a different model prohibitively expensive. After considering all the options, Audi made the decision to close the plant last December, just as the VW Group wrapped up a historic round of reorganization on a scale not seen for the Group in decades. "Global economic changes and intensified international competition are posing major challenges to Audi and the industry as a whole," said Audi CEO Gernot Döllner. "We are facing this reality with the courage to break new ground and with confidence in our traditional strengths." Audi now says that 2025 might be equally tough, with the automaker forecasting weaker overall growth than in the previous 12 months. "Audi expects 2025 to be another difficult financial year in what will continue to be a volatile and challenging environment," the automaker said in recapping its 2024 results. Vehicle deliveries fell from 1,895,240 in 2023, to 1,671,218 in 2024 for the Audi brand. Operating profit dropped from €6.2 billion to €3.9 billion ($6.7 billion to $4.2 billion) over the same time period for the Audi Group, which also includes Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati, seeing one of the sharpest drops in recent memory. 'Amid a difficult environment with intensified competition and a sluggish economy, we kept Audi on track in 2024 and closed out the year on financially sound footing,' said CFO Jürgen Rittersberger. 'However, we still have a tough road ahead of us." But Audi has new models on the way, with the automaker sketching out the outlines of the next two years when it comes to its global plans. The A6 e-tron is on the way stateside later this year, as part of a larger product offensive. In all, the automaker is on track to launch 20 new models over the course of 2024 and 2025, with half of them being battery-electric models. The US market in particular will see 10 new models between the start of the year and through the end of 2026, including a new A6, as well as new A5 and Q5 models. When it comes to its offerings in China—the single largest EV market by a comfortable margin—Audi recently kicked off production of the Audi Q6L e-tron along with longtime partner FAW, with more models on the way. "We are also placing special emphasis on our positioning in the core markets of China and North America," Döllner added. "At the same time, we are working intently on creating more efficient structures throughout the entire company, with a view to getting innovations onto the road faster." Audi is also one of the automakers expected to be affected the most by the new tariffs aimed at imported vehicles in the US, as Audi almost no North American manufacturing presence. The only exception is the Q5, which is built in Mexico. A handful of others are built outside Germany, including the Q7 and Q8 that are produced in Slovakia. The new tariffs, if they enter into force and remain so for the rest of the year, will certainly affect Audi and its corporate parent's 2025 financial results in the US, though the effect on consumers and sales volumes has yet to be fully gauged. Will tariffs on imported models produced by German automakers make a severe dent in the companies' US sales, or will the buyers of those models not be dissuaded much as they were pricey to begin with? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
