Tesla Tops “American-Made” List for 2023 - The Detroit Bureau

Tesla Tops “American-Made” List for 2023 – The Detroit Bureau

Time Stamp: June 21, 2023 5:17 PM
Source Node: 2142511

Wondering what the “most American” vehicle is for 2023? Wonder no more: it’s the Tesla Model Y. It’s the second year in a row the EV maker’s crossover model took the honor and third straight year Tesla’s been on top.

Tesla Model 3
The Tesla Model 3 was the second-most American-Made vehicle on the annual list.

However, the Texas-based company didn’t just take the top spot, it took the top four spots with the Model 3, Model X and Model S following along. The fifth spot on the list went to the Honda Passport. In fact, American Honda took five of the next six spots with the Honda Odyssey, Acura MDX, Honda Ridgeline, Acura RDX and Honda Accord taking Nos 7-11 on the list. 

Only the Volkswagen ID.4 hitting the list at No. 6 and the Toyota Tundra pickup at No. 12 prevented Honda from capturing the next eight consecutive spots on the list. A Detroit-based automaker doesn’t hit the list until Lincoln with the Corsair at No. 16.

American made?

How is “American-made” determined? Well, Cars.com ranks the vehicle produced and purchased in the U.S. using five criteria:

  • Location(s) of final assembly
  • Percentage of U.S. and Canadian parts
  • Countries of origin for all available engines
  • Countries of origin for all available transmissions
  • U.S. manufacturing workforce

“While we don’t reveal the weighting and calculation methodology, each factor is essential, as are a number of disqualifiers explained below,” the website said in a release. “Models are ranked on a 100-point scale, with heavier curb weights functioning as a tiebreaker when necessary.”

American-Made Index 2023 graphic REL

Does it make a difference?

Being “American-made” is a nice title, but with so many automakers from Asia and Europe producing vehicles in the U.S., do consumers really focus on that? Yes, according to a Cars.com consumer survey. 

About half of car shoppers say they will pay more for a vehicle that creates U.S. jobs, with the number of Americans willing to pay an additional 30% or more to support U.S. jobs almost doubling year over year. Additionally, 24% of Americans believe that a manufacturer has to be headquartered in the U.S. to qualify as “substantially contributing to the U.S. economy,” which fairs well for OEMs considered to be “traditionally” American like GM and Ford, however, it’s the foreign automakers like Toyota and Honda, who are on the rise on Cars.com’s AMI list. 

While consumers talk a good game about that two of the “least American” vehicles are top sellers in the U.S.: the Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 finished at 96th and 95th respectively. The Ram 1500 Classic was No. 87. The Nissan Rogue was No. 100 on the list.

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