Car Manufacturing has become an increasingly global affair. Parts are sourced from every corner of the globe and assembly is often done close to the place where the cars will eventually be sold.
Shipping completed cars across the oceans is increasingly seen as a loss-making proposition and when you add import duties the cost is prohibitive.
Recently the US has been reeling under the onslaught of Chinese made EVs and fear that this may be ushering the death of the US car making industry. To stop this the US Government has imposed withering tariffs on both EVs built in China and also any Chinese tech with in a car built anywhere else in the World.
But if you look a little harder at the US car industry it would appear that it is already in what may be described as terminal decline. Of the top twenty cars sold in the US as of now, 14 are built by Japanese manufacturers. Of the top ten only four are from American manufacturers.
The American made car index takes into account the location of assembly, percentage of US made parts, country of origin for the engine and transmissions. The sad fact is, for the US car industry, most of the vehicles sold by US brands are made in low-cost neighbourhoods like Mexico.
One company that does not do that though is Tesla who for the third-year running has topped the list with their Model Y and got fourth place with their Model S and ninth with their Model X. Globally, Tesla managed to sell 1.22 million ModelY’s in 2023 even if it is seen as being a bit clunky compared to most of the higher end Chinese offerings.
Honda is the top Japanese manufacturer with three of their Alabama built models in the top ten, the Passport at number 2, the Odyssey at fifth and Ridgeline at ninth. Toyota got two in there with the venerable Camry in at Seventh and the Lexus TX at number 10. The only European manufacturer to make the top ten most American car is Volkswagen with their ID.4 which claimed the number three spot.
Perhaps most surprisingly, is the lack of anything Ford on the list, this is because the Bronco, Maverick and Mustang E are all considered imports as they are made in Mexico. Meanwhile, down the road at General Motors, their Buick Encore and Envista models didn’t make the list because they are made in South Korea.
Here is the full list:
#1 Tesla Model Y
#2 Honda Passport
#3 Volkswagen ID.4
#4 Tesla Model S
#5 Honda Odyssey
#6 Honda Ridgeline
#7 Toyota Camry
#8 Jeep Gladiator
#9 Tesla Model X
#10 Lexus TX
