Volkswagen’s luxury Audi brand said on Tuesday that it is considering raising prices to pass on the expenses of U.S. import taxes to consumers. It also stated that it anticipates a decision this year about the localization of manufacturing in North America.
With its facility in San Jose Chiapa, Mexico, which produces the well-liked Q5 and employs over 5,000 people, Audi is one of the automakers most vulnerable to import taxes and lacks factories in the United States.
In his presentation of the brand’s full-year results, CEO Gernot Doellner stated that the United States was Audi’s “main growth market” as part of the automaker’s plan.
“That is what we are after. Regarding the import tariffs that President Donald Trump’s government has imposed on goods from Canada and Mexico, Doellner stated, “And we are pursuing this regardless of the changes in the political landscape in the USA.”
Doellner stated that he anticipates a decision this year about the localization of production in the North American market, which may involve the use of both a new location and existing Volkswagen factories.
Earlier in March, Trump consented to give automakers a one-month reprieve from his harsh 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, provided that they adhered to the current free trade regulations.
Audi is thinking about “the extent to which we will have to pass on at least some of the tariffs to our customers in the form of price increases,” according to Juergen Rittersberger, the company’s finance officer.
The Audi Group, which also owns the Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati brands, anticipates a 7-9% operating profit this year, up from 6% in 2024, due to modest economic growth.
In an effort to increase profits and decrease expenses, Audi announced up to 7,500 job losses on Monday. This increases the group’s total projected cuts by the end of the decade to just under 48,000, or 7.8% of its global workforce.
