The Audi logo can be seen on a car dealership in Manhattan.

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DETROIT — Audi's CEO defended the carmaker's plans for a new $4 billion plant in Georgia on Sunday, calling it a business decision aimed at growing sales and reducing exposure to U.S. tariffs.

The plant, set to be Audi's first in the U.S., was announced Saturday by President Donald Trump during a rally in Georgia, near where the Volkswagen -owned luxury brand plans to build the new SUV-producing facility.

"We have significantly greater ambitions for Audi in America," Audi CEO Gernot Dollner said during a media roundtable Sunday. "The United States is the second largest premium market in the world, and today we are not fully exploiting this potential.…