Cars.com revealed on Tuesday its annual American-Made Index for 2022, which ranks vehicles by how American-made they really are.
According to the index, based on data collected in April and May, 95 of the 379 automobiles produced in the U.S. auto market made the independent ranking. The ranking considered manufacturing employment compared to automakers’ footprint, engine and transmission sourcing, assembly locations and part sourcing.
Jennifer Newman, editor-in-chief of Cars.com, a car-buying marketplace, told Automotive News that one of the biggest takeaways of this year’s survey was Tesla’s prevalence on the list. All four of the vehicles Tesla produced ranked in the top 10, with the Model Y coming in first place.
“This is the third year that Tesla has participated in our index, and it’s also the first year in which all four of their vehicles have qualified for the index,” Newman said. “So what was interesting was to see the Model Y in first place, the Model 3 in [second], and … the [Model] X is in fifth and [Model] S is in sixth.”
Honda also had four vehicles in the top 10, with the Passport at No. 4, Ridgeline at No. 8, Odyssey at No. 9 and Pilot at No. 10. The Lincoln Corsair ranked third, up from 64th in 2021. Newman attributed the increase to production of the vehicle moving from Spain to the U.S. The Jeep Cherokee came in seventh.
General Motors, Honda, Toyota and Ford had the highest numbers of vehicles making the index, with GM vehicles representing 19 percent of all included models; Honda, 14 percent; Toyota, 12 percent; and Ford, 12 percent.
Cars.com also surveyed more than 2,000 consumers last month and found a 15 percent year-over-year increase in affordability concerns when purchasing a vehicle. The survey also saw a 21 percent increase in electric vehicle considerations and a 22 percent increase in the number of consumers who said purchasing an American-made vehicle was important to them.
“We’re continuing to see this as a trend with shoppers who are interested in supporting their neighbor down the street, their relatives; they want to help others with this purchase in their life,” Newman said. “What this index does is it easily shares with shoppers which vehicles are American. It’s not as easy as the badge on the hood.”
