- The 2026 American-Made List Shows the Most American Cars of the Year.
- There has been a change in the top 10 with six non-US brands.
- 12 of the top 20 come from Asian automakers.
made in America. It is an important label that tells consumers where a product is manufactured and where its parts are obtained. With tariffs constantly in the news, this is especially relevant for new vehicles. 2026 cars.com The American-Made Index ranks 86 vehicles based on several factors to determine which vehicles are the most American.
The list looks at final assembly location, percentage of US/Canadian parts, country of origin of engine/transmission, and workforce location. can you read Full report here cars.comBut we wanted to talk about some interesting changes in the top 20, especially higher up the list.
The top 10 look like this:
- tesla model 3
- Tesla Model Y
- jeep gladiator
- jeep grand cherokee
- honda ridgeline
- honda odyssey
- Lexus TX350
- Honda Accord
- acura mdx
- honda passport
The top 20 shows some new entrants who were not ranked as high last year. These include the Toyota Tundra at 19th (up from 51), the Kia EV9 at 17 (up from 67), the Ford Explorer at 15 (up at 23), the Lincoln Aviator at 14 (up at 28), the Ford Expedition (up at 66), the Lincoln Navigator at 12 (up at 69), and the Toyota Camry at 11 (up at 24).
The following 2025 vehicles dropped out of the top 20 in 2026: Nissan Pathfinder (down to 51), Chevrolet Colorado (down to 31), Kia Sportage (down to 57), Jeep Wrangler (down to 23), and Honda Pilot (down to 32).
Photo by: Tesla
As far as the top 10 is concerned, this year’s list includes no changes to the top or second positions, but there is a new vehicle in third place, and now six of the 10 vehicles come from non-US automakers.
The Tesla Model 3 has retained its number one spot, and the Tesla Model Y has retained its spot right behind it. Both the Tesla Model S and Model
The Ohio-built Gladiator gave Jeep third place, and the American automaker followed that with the Detroit-assembled Grand Cherokee in fourth place. While the US rounds out the top four, the next six are owned by Japan. Honda is fifth and sixth with its Alabama-built Ridgeline and Odyssey, and Lexus is seventh with its Indiana-built TX.
Honda finished the list with the Ohio-built Accord and Acura MDX in eighth and ninth place, and the Alabama-built Passport rounded out the top 10 in last place.
Motor1’s Opinion: While American automakers feature in the top four, the majority of the rest of this year’s American-made index list is occupied by Japanese automakers. This isn’t entirely surprising, considering how much Honda and Toyota have invested in American manufacturing over the past few decades.
