If you pop the hood of a brand-new car today, there’s a decent chance you'll see a mess of wires and plastic staring back at you. But where did all that stuff actually come from? Honestly, the answer is way more complicated than just looking at the badge on the grille. You’d think a Ford is as American as apple pie, right? Well, sometimes a Honda is actually "more" American.
It’s a weird time for the industry.
In 2025, the U.S. auto industry churned out roughly 10.4 million units of motor vehicles. If we look at the projections for 2026, experts like those at Trading Economics expect that number to hover around 11 million units. That’s a lot of steel. But "assembled in America" and "made in America" are two very different things in the eyes of the law and the enthusiasts who track this stuff.
How Many Cars Made in USA Right Now?
To get the real picture, you have to look at the American-Made Index. It’s not just about where the final bolts are tightened. It’s about the labor, the engine's origin, and where the transmission was birthed.
According to the 2025 rankings from Cars.com, the top of the list isn't dominated by the "Big Three" from Detroit. Instead, Tesla took the first four spots. The Model 3, Model Y, Model X, and Model S are essentially the most American cars you can buy if you're measuring by domestic parts content and assembly labor.
👉 See also: E-commerce Meaning: It Is Way More Than Just Buying Stuff on Amazon
It’s kinda wild when you think about it.
The Numbers Behind the Metal
While we’re producing millions of vehicles, the actual "passenger car" segment is shrinking. In 2025, cars (sedans, coupes) only made up about 17% of the total market. Most of what’s being built in places like Spartanburg, South Carolina, or Lincoln, Alabama, are SUVs and massive pickup trucks.
- Total New-Vehicle Sales Forecast (2026): 15.8 to 16 million units.
- Total Domestic Production (2025): Approx. 10.4 million units.
- The Gap: That roughly 5-6 million unit difference? Those are the cars we import from Mexico, Japan, Germany, and Korea.
The "Made in USA" Identity Crisis
You might be driving a Toyota Tundra and feeling pretty patriotic. You should! That truck is assembled in San Antonio, Texas. Meanwhile, some versions of the Chevy Silverado—a quintessentially American nameplate—are rolling off assembly lines in Silao, Mexico.
The Kogod School of Business at American University produces a "Made in America Auto Index" that really digs into the weeds of this. For 2024 and 2025, they’ve highlighted that "domestic content" is the metric that matters. For example, the Kia EV6 recently moved production to West Point, Georgia. It now boasts a U.S./Canadian parts content of roughly 80%, making it one of the most domestic vehicles on the road, despite the Korean logo.
✨ Don't miss: Shangri-La Asia Interim Report 2024 PDF: What Most People Get Wrong
Where the Factories Are Humming
Manufacturing isn't just a Detroit thing anymore. The "Auto Alley" has shifted south.
- Tesla: Fremont, CA and Austin, TX.
- Honda: Lincoln, AL and Marysville, OH.
- Volkswagen: Chattanooga, TN.
- Hyundai/Kia: Montgomery, AL and West Point, GA.
- BMW: Spartanburg, SC (which is actually one of the largest vehicle exporters in the entire U.S.).
Why the Total Number is Shifting
The 2026 outlook is a bit of a mixed bag. S&P Global Mobility and Cox Automotive are both pointing toward a slight cooling of the market. We’re coming off a volatile 2025 where high interest rates basically kept a lot of people from upgrading their rides.
Affordability is the big wall.
Even though we’re building millions of cars, the average price of a new vehicle has leveled off at a high plateau. It’s harder for manufacturers to keep production lines running at 100% capacity when the average monthly payment is enough to make a grown man cry.
🔗 Read more: Private Credit News Today: Why the Golden Age is Getting a Reality Check
Then there's the EV factor. In late 2025, certain federal tax credits expired, and analysts expect EV market share to slip slightly in 2026—landing around 6%. This shift forces manufacturers to pivot their assembly lines back toward hybrids, which are currently the "goldilocks" choice for most American buyers.
The Component Problem
A car has about 30,000 parts. Even if a car is "Made in USA," the semiconductor chips might come from Taiwan, the sensors from Germany, and the seat fabric from Vietnam. The American Automobile Labeling Act (AALA) requires every new car to have a sticker showing the percentage of U.S. and Canadian parts.
If you want to know how many cars made in USA truly qualify as "domestic," you have to look for that sticker. A car with 75% or higher domestic content is generally considered the gold standard.
What This Means for Your Next Purchase
If you're trying to support local labor, don't just shop by brand. Shop by the VIN. If the first character of the VIN is a 1, 4, or 5, that vehicle was assembled in the United States. A 2 means Canada, and a 3 means Mexico.
It’s also worth noting that Japanese and Korean brands now make up a huge chunk of the "Most American" lists. Honda/Acura, for instance, often has more models in the top 20 of the American-Made Index than Ford or GM.
Actionable Takeaways for Car Buyers:
- Check the VIN: Look for that "1" at the start of the string to ensure U.S. assembly.
- Read the AALA Sticker: Found on the window of every new car, it tells you exactly what percentage of the parts were sourced from the U.S. and Canada.
- Research the Plant: Most manufacturers are proud of their U.S. operations. A quick search for the model and "assembly plant" will tell you if your money is staying in Ohio or heading overseas.
- Don't Ignore the "Foreign" Brands: In the modern economy, a Toyota Camry built in Kentucky often contributes more to the U.S. economy in terms of direct labor than an "American" car imported from abroad.
The landscape is changing fast. With 2026 projected to be a year of "sustainable rhythm," as Edmunds puts it, the number of cars rolling off American lines will stay strong, but the names on those cars might continue to surprise you.