Audi CEO expects 'more bearable' tariff regulation in coming months

FRANKFURT, May 9 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's VOWG_p.DE premium brand Audi, which has no production in the United States, expects current trade talks between Brussels and Washington to provide some level of clarity over car import tariffs soon, its CEO Gernot Doellner said.

European automakers are currently facing a 25% import tariff in the United States, the world's second-largest car market, causing many of them to pull their outlooks for 2025 and look to Brussels to hammer out a bilateral deal.

"We expect to have clarity on this in the coming months and also regulations that will make what is currently on the horizon more bearable or manageable," Doellner said at an industry event on Friday, without elaborating.

Doellner confirmed that a decision around U.S. production would be made this year, adding both an Audi-specific factory as well as producing within Volkswagen's existing footprint were part of the strategic considerations.

Larger rival BMW BMWG.DE earlier this week was more optimistic about a trade deal, expecting U.S. car import tariffs to fall from July.

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a limited bilateral trade agreement that leaves in place Trump's 10% tariffs on British exports but lowers U.S. duties on British car exports.