Audi chief Gernot Doellner drew heavy criticism on Monday for appearing alongside US President Donald Trump at a midterm campaign rally in the battleground state of Georgia — a stage appearance Germany's top union says violated the automaker's own rules.
Doellner appeared alongside Trump at the rally in Perry, near Macon in central Georgia, to announce plans to build a $4 billion plant, the luxury carmaker's first in the United States, which would produce 200,000 SUVs a year and create about 4,500 jobs.
"A flagrant breach" of the company's own rules
The head of Germany's IG Metall union accused him of breaking the company's code of conduct with the appearance. "Doellner is also in flagrant breach of his own company's rules, which expressly require political neutrality in the run-up to elections," said Christiane Benner, head of IG Metall and deputy chair of the Volkswagen supervisory board. Benner called the appearance "deeply embarrassing."
The investment itself is not final. It must be put to the supervisory board of parent company Volkswagen, including German labour representatives, and any decision would come after lengthy considerations over a US plant built to escape import tariffs that cost Audi around €1.2 billion last year.
A controversial ally
Trump has voiced his support in the past for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, making him a controversial ally for Germany's political and corporate mainstream. German automotive expert Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer referred to Doellner as a "mini Elon Musk," comparing him to the Tesla boss who has appeared on stage with Trump.
For Audi, the Georgia plant is a bet on escaping the tariffs that have hammered its US business. For Doellner, the rally appearance has turned a business announcement into a political fight at home — one the union, and Volkswagen's own board, will not let pass quietly.
Sources: Reuters, 26 Oct 2026; Devdiscourse, 26 Oct 2026; Euronext Live, 26 Oct 2026.