US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that Audi will build an automobile plant in Georgia as he tries to deliver on his promise to bolster American manufacturing in the final days before the midterm elections. Speaking at a campaign rally in Perry, Georgia, where he sought to boost Republican candidates, Trump said Audi – the German luxury brand owned by Volkswagen – would commit US$4.2 billion in nearby Macon to begin construction on a plant that will produce 200,000 cars a year. “Think of that. 200,000 cars a year. That’s incredible,” Trump said, crediting his aggressive and unpopular tariff policies for the company's decision to build the plant. The announcement seemed timed to offer a last-minute boost to Republican candidates in the battleground state, including Representative Mike Collins, who is trying to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Trump has spent October campaigning in reliably Republican states as the party tries to hold onto its majorities in the House and Senate. Trump won Georgia in 2024 after losing it in 2020. Trump was joined on stage by Gernot Dollner, the chairman of the board of management at Audi, who said the plant would be producing “our biggest and most premium SUVs”. “This is a long-term investment, because we believe in the American market,” he said. Audi, in a news release, said the plant – its first in Georgia – would create about 4,500 jobs and that construction was scheduled to begin in 2027, with production beginning in the early 2030s. Republicans are bracing for losses in the November 3 midterm elections as they contend with an unpopular president and an electorate that is angry over high costs and the ongoing war in Iran. (AP) Edited by Aaron Tam