The Top 10 Most American Made Cars May Surprise You

Just how American are, well, American-built cars? With concern over Chinese influence in the global automotive market and President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act stipulating where materials can come from to qualify for tax breaks, the question is as pertinent now as it will ever be.

Well, according to the latest American Made Index (AMI), only four out of the top ten most American cars are actually from American manufacturers. Conversely, five are Japanese, while Volkswagen sneaks in as the only European manufacturer in the top 10. Expanding the net, we find 14 out of the top 20 most American vehicles are from Japanese manufacturers.

Read: Tesla Model Y Was World’s Best-Selling Car In 2023 With 1.22 Million Units

For a third year running, Tesla takes home the top spot with the Model Y. Also included in the top ten are the Model S (ranked fourth) and the Model X (#9). The only other US manufacturer to make it in is Jeep, with the eighth-placed Gladiator.

Meanwhile, Honda manages to equal Tesla by having three of its Alabama-built models ranked in the top ten. The 2024 Passport gets second place, while the Odyssey and Ridgeline follow close behind, in fifth and sixth. Toyota adds its hat in the ring with the Camry in seventh position, while the company’s upmarket brand rounds out the top ten with the Lexus TX.

The long-standing study, conducted by Cars.com, has been an important litmus test for consumers who truly care about how much American content and labor goes into their domestic-built vehicles. It considers five main criteria: assembly location, parts content, engine origin, transmission origin, and U.S. manufacturing workforce.

This year, thanks to increased US and Canadian parts content, Volkswagen’s ID.4 jumped up the rankings, taking third place. In fact, VW’s ID.4 is the only American-made car by a European manufacturer to feature in the top 70.

Of the 400 nameplates considered for the AMI, the study doesn’t rank those outside of the top 100. That said, some notable imports from all-American brands may surprise you. The Ford Maverick, Bronco Sport, and Mustang Mach-E are all considered imports, being manufactured in Mexico. Meanwhile, General Motors’s Buick Encore GX and Envista models are made even further afield in South Korea.

Additionally, even if a model is predominantly produced in the US, that doesn’t always mean every unit originates at home. While Honda and Acura manage to rank well in the index, the Civic could come from either Indiana, Canada, or Japan — all depending on the variant.

While most BMW X3s are made in the US, some may come from the German brand’s South African plant. Last but not least, while the vast majority of Genesis GV70s are built in Alabama, the company says there’s a chance that the odd unit will be imported from South Korea.