Every year, Cars.com compiles the sales of vehicles built in the United States and publishes them under its annual index called Cars.com American-Made Index. The media uses a variety of criteria to first determine if a vehicle is actually built in the United States, and then assigns it a ranking based on its sales performance.
This year it is Tesla which dominates this list, but not just with one model, but with its entire range. In fact, if Tesla only markets four models, they occupy the first four places in the ranking.
Giga Austin’s help
It must be said that Tesla won points when it recently opened the valves of its giga factory in Texas (Giga Austin). This is where the Model Y is built, the vehicle that dominates the rankings and which recently swept the title of the best-selling vehicle in the world.
In second, third and fourth place are the Tesla Model 3, Model X and Model S, all three built at the factory in Fremont, California.
As for fifth place, we find the Honda Passport. It comes from Honda’s factory in Lincoln, Alabama. Closely followed by the Volkswagen ID.4, an impressive stat considering that Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee plant only started production of this vehicle in November 2022.
Criteria
In order to determine if a vehicle is actually built in the United States, Cars.com There is a very precise methodology based on several criteria. The final location of the vehicle is indeed very important, but there is also the percentage of its parts that must be American or Canadian. Country of origin is also measured for all powertrains and transmissions offered by the model. The workforce must of course also be American.
Ironically, some models from American brands are at the bottom of this list, which has 100 models in all. Surprisingly, the GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado twins are listed at 95e and 96e place.
Conclusion
Seeing Tesla in first place is no surprise, especially since the factory opened Giga-Austin for the Model Y. But beyond the manufacturer’s manufacturing strength, there are the strategic decisions it has taken with its factories, not to mention its independence from certain parts suppliers.
Because because Tesla designs and builds more of its own components than some major automakers, it ensures that when it moves into a particular area, it can focus on the local economy instead of to call on suppliers who are sometimes established abroad.
