Ford, Tesla, Jeep & Honda Top the Most American Made Cars Index

Car released its 2020 American-Made Index (AMI). Now in its 15th year, the AMI is an independent annual list that ranks the new vehicles that contribute most to the U.S. economy based on criteria ranging from U.S. factory jobs and manufacturing plants to parts sourcing. The No. 1 most American-made vehicle for 2020 is the Ford Ranger.

“This marks the 15th year we have released the American-Made Index, and for the first time, we are ranking a full, comprehensive list of qualifying American-made cars available in the U.S. Of some 350 cars on the market for 2020, 91 models qualified for our index,” said Kelsey Mays, Cars.com’s senior consumer affairs and vehicle evaluations editor. “The auto industry is highly globalized, but these 91 models bring jobs to America and investments to our local communities — a growing concern for Americans in the current climate.”

According to new research from Cars.com, 70% of shoppers consider a car’s U.S. economic impact a significant or deciding factor in their vehicle purchase; that’s up from 66% who indicated the same in 2019¹. The COVID-19 pandemic has further impacted Americans’ desire to “buy local.” The survey found that nearly 40% of consumers report they are more likely to buy an American-made car due to the current health and economic crisis, while just 4% said they were less likely¹. And a whopping 26% said it was “unpatriotic” to buy a non-American-made car, compared to just 18% in 2019¹.

With rising interest in buying American amid the economic disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cars.com has changed its methodology and expanded its rankings to all qualified cars built in the U.S.

Here are the top 10 finishers on the 2020 Cars.com American-Made Index:

“Expanding the American-Made Index required significant updates to certain elements of our methodology, but the results accommodate a long-standing desire of AMI audiences: to see the full list,” Mays said.

The Michigan-built Ford Ranger, resurrected for the U.S. market in 2019, ranks No. 1 on the 2020 index. At No. 2 is Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Jeep Cherokee, assembled in northern Illinois. New entrant Tesla, meanwhile, took three spots among the top 10 on the 2020 AMI. This is the first year Tesla has participated in the AMI, shaking up the results. Honda and GM also hold top spots on the index this year.

In total, the 2020 American-Made Index ranks cars from 13 automakers built in 14 states.

Methodology

Cars.com’s American-Made Index ranks cars based on five factors: assembly location, parts sourcing as determined by the American Automobile Labeling Act, U.S. factory employment relative to vehicle production, engine sourcing and transmission sourcing.