Georgia didn’t hand Audi a check. It handed Audi just about everything else: graded land, new roads, a rail spur, a training center and two decades of property-tax relief. The draft deal paperwork also leaves room for a second factory phase that could nearly double the project.
What’s official
The headline numbers come from the governor’s announcement on October 24. Audi plans to spend about $4 billion on its first U.S. plant, at the Middle Georgia Megasite in Peach County, and hire roughly 4,500 people. Grading is set to start in 2027 and construction in 2028, with full production of 200,000 units a year expected in 2031. Georgia Quick Start will build a dedicated training facility for the plant.
Audi’s own release describes premium SUVs aimed at North American buyers. It says the plan would make North America a third major pillar of Audi production alongside Europe and China, and that the site has room for future expansion. That last line comes back in phase two.
The local partner is the Mid-Georgia Gateway Joint Development Authority, which Peach, Houston and Macon-Bibb counties created on May 19, 2026, specifically to market this site.
What the deal documents say
Draft economic development and incentive agreements released by the JDA under Georgia’s open records law put phase one incentives at a minimum of $958.4 million. The largest items:
- Property tax savings: about $458.6 million over 20 years. Instead of regular taxes, Audi would make payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) of roughly $295 million over 20 years, starting in 2028. Peach County gets 57%, Houston and Macon-Bibb 19% each, and Fort Valley 5%.
- Roads: an estimated $224.5 million in state road work.
- Site grant: $94 million from Georgia’s REBA program for grading, environmental cleanup and Norfolk Southern rail access, plus $30 million from the state’s EDGE Fund.
- Training: a $73.5 million Quick Start center, with the state covering an estimated $25.4 million in operations and training for its first five years.
The draft also describes a phase two Audi can choose to build through the end of 2033: $3 billion more investment and 3,000 more jobs. That would bring the project to $7 billion and 7,500 workers. Phase two carries its own 20-year property tax break, estimated at $361.1 million, along with roughly $237.5 million in PILOT payments.
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The $958 million also leaves out a pay-as-you-hire credit. Georgia’s mega project credit is set by statute and allows up to $5,250 per eligible job per year. If all 4,500 phase-one jobs qualified for five years, that’s about $118 million more. Phase two’s 3,000 jobs could add about $79 million on top. The credit only pays once people are actually on the payroll, which is why Governor Kemp keeps saying Audi has to earn its incentives.
The 80% clawback
Under the draft agreements, Audi has to hit 80% of its promised investment and jobs to keep the full value of its incentives. If it falls short, it pays back a portion.
Georgia writes the same floor into other deals. Aspen Aerogels’ 2022 SEC filing on its Georgia plant required at least 80% of investment and job goals, sustained for 60 months. A slow quarter doesn’t trigger a payback.
Rivian is the cautionary tale. Its 2022 economic development agreement with the state and a four-county JDA promised incentives worth about $1.5 billion. Rivian’s later 10-K shows that deal was amended in September 2023. Georgia voters have watched one EV megasite sit graded and waiting. A clawback only protects taxpayers if the state is willing to enforce it against a company it worked hard to land.
The paperwork isn’t final yet. The copies released were unsigned. The JDA says the local parties have signed and the terms haven’t changed, but the State of Georgia and Audi of America still have to approve.
Why this matters to Audi buyers
For buyers, the clue is in Audi’s own release, which says a U.S. plant reduces exposure to trade and currency risks. Every Audi sold here today is imported, so the brand pays duties on every car and takes the hit whenever the euro or peso swings. A Georgia plant swaps those import costs for a fixed local cost base. That likely explains part of Audi’s appetite for a deal like this, though the documents don’t say so.
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None of that changes prices on today’s cars. Full production isn’t expected until 2031, so every Audi sold before then is still imported, along with whatever trade costs come with it.
For enthusiasts, the realistic expectation is big SUVs built for American buyers, not U.S.-built RS models.
For Middle Georgia, phase two is the part to watch. Audi has until the end of 2033 to commit to it. If the first plant sells, phase two is cheap for Audi: Georgia already paid for the land, rail and roads. If it doesn’t, the state is left with infrastructure sized for a factory twice the one it got. What would you want written into the contract before a state spends road money on a plant that might never grow?