Porsche and Audi are facing a tariff problem. Right now, every Porsche is made in Europe, which faces the threat of a 10% tariff, and Audi makes cars in Germany, Belgium, China, Hungary, India, Slovakia, Spain and even Mexico, which faces stiff 25% tariffs.
According to Carscoops via Handelsblatt, a German publication, both brands, which are owned by the Volkswagen Group, are looking to set up shop in the U.S., and they may find familiar homes.
The new manufacturing footprint would be a first for both brands, neither have U.S.-based operations.
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The landing spot with the most potential appears to be VW’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which has some 5,500 employees.
The plant makes VW’s Atlas SUV and the ID.4 electric SUV, but it likely has room to spare. U.S. sales of the ID.4 plummeted 55% last year, according to Carscoops.
However, EV sales overall experienced moderate growth in the U.S. last year, before jumping at the end of 2024.
If Porsche and Audi make the move, they’ll likely make larger SUVs. For example, Porsche plans to build the K1 SUV on VW Group’s Scalable Systems Platform (SSP), the carmaker’s modular EV car manufacturing platform being developed for the Chattanooga plant. Since 2009, VW has invested some $4.3 billion in its Tennessee operations.
Audi could also move into VW Group’s new plant in South Carolina. The plant is going to make the new Scout EV and it’s rumored that Audi could see a version of it.
Either way, Porsche and Audi will have to do something. Porsche sold a record 76,167 vehicles in the U.S. last year and Audi, despite a 14% drop in sales, still moved more than 196,000 units, and tariffs could have a huge impact on VW’s bottom line.
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