The recently published 2020 Cars.com American-Made Index (AMI) identified three of the top 10 American made cars by Tesla. As the leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer in the United States, Tesla defies popular belief that EVs take away American jobs.
American jobs and American made are becoming more and more of a priority to voters and consumers. Per a recent study by Cars.com, 70% of respondents indicated that domestically manufactured vehicles are a priority when considering their next car purchase (up from 66% the year before) (Cars.com).
American Made Index Methodology
Every year Cars.com publishes their AMI to identify the most American made cars. The 2020 AMI release ranks each vehicle on the following factors:
- final assembly location
- percentage of U.S./Canada parts
- country of origin of engine and transmission
- U.S. manufacturing employees relative to carmaker’s scale
As mandated by the American Automobile Labeling Act, automakers must reveal their production and manufacturing origination statistics to the public. As such, the AMI considers this information when calculating the most and least American made vehicles.
Top 10 Most American Made Cars in 2020
- Ford Ranger
- Jeep Cherokee
- Tesla Model S
- Tesla Model 3
- Honda Odyssey
- Honda Ridgeline
- Honda Passport
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Tesla Model X
- Chevrolet Colorado
As a result, Tesla made the top 10 list three times. Every single vehicle they had in full production from 2019-2020 made the most American made cars list. Specifically, the Model S ranked the highest at #3, followed by the Model 3 at #4 and the Model X at #9.
The Model Y does not appear on the list due to just recently starting production. Look for the Model Y in the 2021 AMI report.
This may be surprising as there are three EVs in the top 10 most American made cars list. Many people believe that EVs are not good for the American economy due to loss of American manufacturing jobs to overseas factories. However, Tesla, as the leading EV automaker, has dispelled this as the AMI report shows.
However, Tesla is not the first automaker to make the AMI most American made cars list. In 2018, the Chevy Volt ranked at #5. Unfortunately, GM decided to shut down production of the Volt in 2019.
Closing Thoughts
Consumers consider many, many factors when buying a car. Some individuals care a lot about appearance while others are more concerned with efficiency. For those with a priority of American made products and looking for an EV, Tesla is the way to go.
As an added bonus, the “fuel” for Teslas (or any EV for the matter) are also extremely American made. The national grid is becoming more and more green. That is there are more domestically powered renewable energy sources each and every year. Therefore, the electricity used to charge the electric car batteries is made by American jobs and resources.
The AMI report does not account for energy consumption after the vehicle is manufactured, however, it would be safe to venture that if it did all EVs would significantly rank higher on the list.
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