Do you only want a car made 100% in the U.S.? Good Luck with that!

Currently, there are no cars that are 100% made in the U.S.  For that to happen, in addition to the cars being assembled in the U.S., all parts would also need to be made and sourced from the U.S. Although there are U.S. car manufacturers like Ford, General Motors, Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) and Tesla, the cars they produce are not 100% made in the U.S. 

In 2024, Americans bought approximately 16 million vehicles, and 50% of those vehicles were imported from outside of the U.S.  Of the 8 million vehicles assembled in the U.S., the average domestic content was approximately 40%-50%*.  Consider Ford, for instance; nearly all of the vehicles sold in North America are manufactured in the United States with the help of a few plants in Mexico and Canada. Ford has about 65 manufacturing plants worldwide, with less than half inside the U.S.  The popular Ford F-150, while assembled in the U.S., has a significant portion of its parts coming from overseas (60% domestic content).

To build affordable vehicles in the most cost-efficient way, manufacturers rely on the global supply chain.  The main reason parts come from various countries is due to economies of scale.  The raw materials for some parts are more abundant in supply and the cost is lower in foreign countries and, more importantly, the cost of labor is substantially lower. This makes it cheaper to get the parts made outside and shipped to the U.S. as opposed to making them within the country. In general, the manufacturer will have a lower per-unit cost for parts and therefore make the car more affordable for U.S. consumers.  

So, if you really want an all American made car, you will have to settle for vehicles that are more like 75% made in the U.S. The focus has to be on cars that are assembled in the U.S. with a lower percentage of parts coming from foreign countries. According to the American-Made Index by cars.com in 2024, most of the cars that fit this requirement are not all from American manufacturers. The cars at the top of the list are: 

• Tesla Model Y (assembled in CA and TX-85% domestic content)  

• Honda Passport (assembled in AL-77% domestic content)

• Volkswagen ID.4 (assembled in TN-74% domestic content) 

• Tesla Model S (assembled in CA-80% domestic content)

• Honda Odyssey (assembled in AL-74% domestic content)  

By Ylanda T. Wilhite

Sources: cars.com, Marketwatch March 27, 2025 article by Vitor Reklaitis, American University Kogod School of Business, USA Today

*domestic content doesn’t distinguish between parts from Canada or U.S.