Tesla Model Y is most made-in-America vehicle for third straight year
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The Tesla Model Y ranks No. 1 on the Cars.com American-Made Index list. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Tesla topped an annual list of the most made-in-America vehicles for the third consecutive year, while foreign automakers made up the majority of the top 10.
Why it matters: Where vehicles are assembled — and where their parts are from — feeds into the ongoing political debate over tariffs on imported goods, unionized labor and America's business climate.
Between the lines: The Tesla Model Y scored the top spot in the 19th annual Cars.com American-Made Index, while the Tesla Model S sedan was fourth and the Tesla Model X SUV was ninth.
- The Jeep Gladiator pickup was the only vehicle made by one of the Detroit Three automakers to qualify for the top 10.
The intrigue: Foreign automakers that have invested heavily in American manufacturing made up the rest of the top 10 of 400 models.
- Honda vehicles placed fifth (Odyssey) and sixth (Ridgeline).
- Toyota vehicles finished seventh (Camry) and 10th (Lexus TX).
- And the Volkswagen ID.4 EV finished third.
How it works: Cars.com uses a proprietary formula that includes an assessment of each vehicle's location of assembly, origin of their parts and local employment counts.
Context: Washington is debating tariffs on imported vehicles.
- President Biden recently imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs.
- Former President Trump has proposed a 200% tariff on Chinese EVs imported from Mexico.
- The UAW has long pressured automakers to shift manufacturing to America.
Some automakers have already taken steps to relocate EV manufacturing.
- The Volkswagen ID.4 EV was previously made in Germany but has since shifted to the automaker's plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Friction point: Every major foreign automaker is facing a organization campaign from the UAW, which recently unionized the VW plant in Chattanooga after years of failures.
- The American-Made Index gives Toyota and Honda, in particular, enables them to argue that they've already prioritized American jobs.
Yes, but: Even the most made-in-America vehicles contain significant parts from elsewhere.
- Of the 400 vehicles analyzed by Cars.com for this year's list, only two got 75% or more of their components from the U.S. and Canada, based on federal records.
- "There is no vehicle that is 100% American made," Patrick Masterson, who leads research on the project for Cars.com, tells Axios. "There are parts sourced from all over the place."
