- Cars.com has released the 20th edition of its American Made Index.
- Tesla has once again topped the charts, taking the first four places for the Model 3, Y, S, and X (respectively).
- In fact, EVs made up 60% of the top-10 spots.
If there’s one thing that many consumers learned over the last year, it’s that even the most made-in-America cars aren’t entirely made in America.
Parts come from everywhere, causing most cars to be much more international than people think. The auto manufacturing game is a global one where brands of all insignias put aside their nationalities, and even jobs in their home countries, in the name of profits.
But some cars still do better at being all-American than others. Each year, Cars.com measures which cars top the charts in one of the most flag-waving, red-white-and-blue-wearing studies out there. This year, 60% of the top-10 most American-made vehicles are EVs—and that’s despite politicians looking to cut off taxpayer funding to them.
Photo by: Tesla
At the top of the list sits Tesla. That’s a crown that the automaker has held consecutively since 2021. However, this year, Tesla has taken the top-four spots with the Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X (respectively). That’s a feat that it only accomplished once in 2023.
This year also brought a number of Hyundai and Kia vehicles to the AMI. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 (30th place), Kia EV6 (6th place), and Kia EV9 (67th place) all made the list thanks to their new assembly location in Georgia.
Here are the top 10 most American-made cars, according to Cars.com:
- Tesla Model 3
- Tesla Model Y
- Tesla Model S
- Tesla Model X
- Jeep Gladiator
- Kia EV6
- Honda Ridgeline
- Honda Odyssey
- Honda Passport
- Volkswagen ID.4
Even though the AMI looks at more than 400 vehicles, only 99 are actually ranked. And at the bottom of that ranking are quite a few electrified vehicles (both hybrid and BEV) as well. The Mercedes-Benz GLE450e is one of them, followed by the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV, Honda Civic Hybrid, Cadillac Lyric and—all the way at 99—the Toyota Rav4 Hybrid.
Foreign Automakers Are More ‘American’ Than Domestic
Photo by: InsideEVs
Call it irony if you must, but in the spirit of competition, foreign automakers have been utilizing American production more and more—especially in the era of tariffs. That’s why it should come as no surprise that foreign automakers have quickly outpaced the number of domestic automakers on the AMI.
The number of cars built by foreign brands on the list has grown year-over-year. In 2021, the number of foreign autos on the list was already the majority at a whopping 58%, but it’s since grown to a massive 67% in 2025.
Domestic brands? Their cars make up just 32% of all vehicles on the list. In fact, GM has 25% fewer cars on the AMI since 2020. Meanwhile, Stellantis has added 14% over the last five years and Ford an even more impressive 30%.
This list goes to show that in the world of auto manufacturing, a badge is really just symbolism. Sure, there’s prowess in brand heritage and engineering, but a Japanese car isn’t necessarily even from Japan. Sometimes they’re from Ohio, and other times they’re from Alabama or the Carolinas. That’s something that the AMI tries to get across to car buyers everywhere: buying American isn’t always as easy as just driving down to your local Chevy dealership.
And perhaps even more interesting is just how Americanized EVs have become. Sure, Tesla is to be expected. But who would have expected Kia or Volkswagen to make it into the top 10? It’s even more alarming that the U.S. government is looking to kill off EV incentives as it’s clear working not only to increase adoption, but also to add domestic manufacturing and production jobs that otherwise would have existed.