The subsides were during Clinton and Bush 2. BMW and Mercedes were here long before Biden and Obama. It makes good sense to manufacture your product in the area it is sold - that's the real reason for their mfg base establishment.
Not only the direct jobs, but also the other support ones - automation, suppliers, maintenance, facilities work, etc.
Absolutely, especially with larger/heavier items like cars... I'm frankly somewhat surprised there aren't more assembly plants across the US just to reduce the shipping costs of the final product. Even with a more globalized supply chain of the component parts.
I'm talking of the Biden-era IRA here. BMW had to invest 1.7 billions in 2022 to manufacture most of its EV directly from there as you can compete in the US market without the IRA subsidies and the conditions severely limit even which parts you can import.
That's a significant shift moving from final assembly to forcing most of the supply chain to be relocated.
Not only the direct jobs, but also the other support ones - automation, suppliers, maintenance, facilities work, etc.