- General Motors has dominated the list of the most American-made vehicles.
- Tesla secured the top four spots, while Jeep came in fifth with the Gladiator.
- Tariffs appear to be pushing consumers towards American-made vehicles.
Until recently, most Americans likely didn’t care where their car was made. However, President Trump’s tariffs on automobile and vehicle parts have changed the equation and made imports more expensive.
Amid this background, Cars.com’s American-Made Index is a tad more interesting. While it’s an imperfect measure, it factors in assembly location, parts sourcing, engine sourcing, transmission sourcing, and U.S. factory employment relative to vehicle production. It’s worth noting this isn’t a definitive ranking, as different methodologies could produce varying results in other studies, as we’ve seen before.
Also: Only Two Cars On The Most American-Made List Appear To Meet Trump’s 85% Content Threshold
Nevertheless, that’s a pretty expansive list and in this case, Tesla secured the top four spots with the Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X. This is hardly surprising as the automaker typically dominates the American-Made Index and the Model Y has held onto the top spot for the past three years.
Other American models making the list were the Jeep Gladiator, Jeep Wrangler, and Chevrolet Colorado. That’s a sad showing as foreign automakers took 13 of the top 20 spots.
2025 American-Made Index
SWIPE
However, the full list includes 117 vehicles and each one contributes to the U.S. economy. Taking a broader look, GM had the most vehicles on the index this year, though only one, the Chevy Colorado, made it into the top 20. The full list also includes a number of other automakers including BMW and Mercedes, which have plants in Spartanburg, South Carolina and Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
More: Subaru Announces Big Price Hikes, Appears Afraid To Blame Trump’s Tariffs
The list comes at an interesting time as Cars.com pointed to a recent survey, which showed tariffs have influenced consumers to seek out American-made vehicles. Prices are said to be more of a factor than patriotism and 73% of shoppers said they’d consider an American-built vehicle to avoid added costs due to tariffs.
While the Trump administration is pushing automakers and suppliers to build more vehicles and components in the United States, the numbers aren’t in their favor. According to the online marketplace, the average domestic parts content of the top 10 vehicles was 70.3% this year and that’s down from 83.4% in 2006. The study’s lead researcher, Patrick Masterson, also noted “No vehicle has ever reached 100% domestic parts content in the index’s history” as “manufacturing is a complex, international process.”
