Foreign Brands Dominate 2026’s Most American-Made Cars List

Tariffs and the end of the electric vehicle federal tax credit have reduced the number of vehicles the Detroit Three have on Cars.com’s 2026 American-Made Index released on June 23.

As usual, Tesla Model 3 and Model Y are Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the latest list as the most American-made cars. Of the 86 vehicles that made the list, Stellantis makes six, Ford makes nine, and GM makes 13.

Ford Motor Co. lost a few vehicles off of last year’s list due to discontinued models. But it also saw models such as the Lincoln Navigator and the Ford Expedition move up the list to a higher rank as it added more parts made in the United States or Canada.

Stellantis saw the Jeep Grand Cherokee jump 66 spots on the index — from No. 70 in 2025 to No. 4 this year — after adding more U.S.- and Canada-made parts.

This is the 21st year Cars.com has produced this list, and the total number of American-made cars dropped to an all-time low of 86, compared with 99 last year.

Patrick Masterson, lead researcher at Cars.com, blames the decline on automakers changing their product plans and discontinuing some models, especially electric vehicles, as consumer demand for EVs stalled once the federal tax credit of up to $7,500 on the purchase of a new EV expired last fall. On last year’s list there were 11 EVs; this year there are only five.

Masterson said Cars.com does this list for consumer education.

“We think it’s important for people to understand where your vehicle is coming from,” Masterson said. “What we found is that people just assume that the badge on the hood tells the whole story and that’s not true. If you’re digging deeper, if you’re concerned about where your dollar is going, this is one way to look at that.”

For example, Masterson said Cars.com surveyed shoppers and nearly three-fourths said they believed the F-150 pickup was 100% American-made. Yet, the pickup ranked No. 27 for the hybrid variant and No. 28 for the gasoline variant on the index.

“That’s because of the domestic parts content percentage,” Masterson explained. “While it’s true that final assembly is in Kansas City … the actual parts content percentage of the truck is only 45%.”

Cars.com’s Methodology

Masterson said vehicles built and bought in the United States for the 2026 model year were weighted on five key factors to create a 100-point scale. Here are the considerations Cars.com analysts studied — most of this information is available on the car’s window sticker:

Location of final assembly: If a vehicle is not made in the United States, it is automatically disqualified.
Percentage of U.S. and Canadian parts: This ties back to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which required a certain percentage of a vehicle’s parts from suppliers in the U.S. or Canada.
Country of origin for available engines: For an EV, the country of origin for a drive unit. The country must be the United States or Canada.
Country of origin for transmissions: For EVs, the origin of the battery or power unit.
U.S. manufacturing workforce: The U.S. factory workforce relative to the automaker’s footprint. R&D, design, and headquarters locations are excluded.

Tesla Tops the List

The most American-made vehicle is the Tesla Model 3, built at Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California. Masterson said 72% of its components are U.S.- and Canada-built parts. In second place is the Tesla Model Y, built at both the California factory and Tesla’s plant in Austin, Texas.

Masterson said a key component of Tesla’s high scores is its workforce. According to Tesla’s website, the company had 47,000 employees in California as of 2022.

“They have a lot of people building those cars in those plants,” Masterson said. “This index doesn’t account for the perspective of a boardroom. It accounts for how many people does this company employ? What does that do for the economy?”

The Top of the 2026 List

Here are the top 20 vehicles Cars.com ranks as the most American-made:

Tesla Model 3
Tesla Model Y
Jeep Gladiator
Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Grand Cherokee L
Honda Ridgeline
Honda Odyssey
Lexus TX 350
Honda Accord
Acura MDX
Honda Passport
Toyota Camry (HEV)
Lincoln Navigator, Navigator L
Ford Expedition, Expedition Max
Lincoln Aviator
Ford Explorer
Acura RDX
Kia EV9
Acura Integra
Toyota Tundra
Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid (HEV)

The Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition both rose significantly — from the 60s to Nos. 12 and 13, respectively — after domestic parts content in the Expedition climbed to 55% from 42% in 2025 and engines shifted from Mexico-made to U.S. sources.

The Ford Mustang also jumped 34 spots from No. 56 to No. 22, with domestic parts content rising to 55% from 41% last year.

Toyota’s Miss

The Toyota RAV4, a top-selling SUV usually built in Georgetown, Kentucky, was ranked No. 99 on last year’s index. But it does not appear this year.

“All of the RAV4s available on dealership lots for model year 2026 were made in Japan, and that’s because the RAV4 got a redesign,” Masterson explained. “So, they were retooling the Kentucky plant.”

Without proof of U.S. production, Masterson could not include the vehicle. He called it “a huge miss in terms of just bad timing on Toyota’s part” and said it is “fully expected to be back on the list next year.”

Masterson said most respondents to Cars.com’s consumer survey said they were willing to pay more for a car made in America if it created jobs, and the majority of consumers said it matters to them where a vehicle is built.

To view the full list, visit Cars.com/american-made-index.