Washington — For the sixth year in a row, a model from Elon Musk-led electric vehicle giant Tesla Inc. topped the 2026 Cars.com American-Made Index, while an offering from rugged Stellantis NV brand Jeep showed the greatest improvement among Detroit Three nameplates.
Jeep landed two 2026 models in the top five: the Gladiator and the Grand Cherokee, which saw a dramatic 66-place jump in the rankings thanks to a “staggering” 14% increase in U.S.-Canadian parts content over the past year. Crosstown rivals Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co., meanwhile, did not register any models in the top 10.
“The Jeep brand is proud to see two of our nameplates — Jeep Gladiator and Jeep Grand Cherokee — in the top five of the Cars.com American-Made Index,” a statement from Stellantis said. “It further underscores that the Jeep brand has been named the most patriotic brand for 25 years in a row by Brand Keys. As part of the Stellantis FaSTLAne 2030 strategy, we’re accelerating the Jeep brand’s global growth, including a strong commitment to North America.”
The Cars.com list, which started in 2006, has become a notable indicator in the automotive world amid political and economic concerns over the decline of U.S. manufacturing in a key sector. President Donald Trump has been an especially vocal critic of that decline, though his record on reversing decades-long offshoring trends has been mixed so far across his two terms in office.
The newest edition of annual rankings from the online car and truck marketplace had fewer vehicles (86) qualify than last year (99). The list ranks light-duty vehicles of sufficient sales volume using a mix of factors, including U.S.-Canadian parts content as reported under the American Automobile Labeling Act, where a vehicle’s powertrain comes from, location of final assembly and number of U.S. manufacturing employees relative to overall footprint.
“All vehicles on Cars.com’s American-Made index — whether it’s No. 1, the (Tesla) Model 3, or No. 86 this year, the Honda Civic — they all contribute to the U.S. economy,” said Patrick Masterson, the lead researcher for the website’s AMI project. “While those at at the top of the list have a higher local production value, every model that lands on our index should be celebrated for its important contributions to our country’s workforce and economy.”
Masterson added that the practice of measuring American content is difficult, noting limitations of public data sources like the AALA. “Manufacturing is complicated … From the outside, you can only go so far,” he said. “But we try to go as far as we can with this, and this is the methodology that we’ve come up with.”
Ford, despite not having any models in the top 10, did have four vehicles in the top 15. The Dearborn-based automaker had nine in the 2026 list overall and scored the best average ranking of all legacy manufacturers. Its top-ranking model (No. 12) was the Lincoln Navigator, assembled in Louisville, Kentucky.
GM had 13 qualifying vehicles, tied for second place with Honda Motor Co. behind leader Toyota Motor Corp. (14). The Detroit automaker’s highest-ranking model (No. 25) was the GMC Canyon pickup truck, assembled in Wentzville, Missouri.
“GM had more vehicles on this year’s American-Made Index than any other domestic automaker,” the company said in a statement. “We’re proud to help power the U.S. economy through 50 assembly and parts facilities across 19 states, more than 10,000 U.S.-based suppliers and over 90,000 U.S. employees.”
Toyota also touted its performance on the list, writing in an emailed statement: “We’re honored to have 14 vehicles recognized in this year’s American-Made Index. The ranking reflects Toyota’s philosophy of building where we sell and buying where we build, and the hard work of our American team members. We remain committed to investing in U.S. manufacturing and supporting American jobs for years to come.”
Cars.com’s Masterson, responding to a question from The Detroit News, explained that the “dominant factor” causing a year-over-year decline in the number of vehicles qualifying for the list was not automakers shifting production overseas but rather decisions to permanently or temporarily discontinue vehicles.
Tesla, for example, had four of the top five spots in 2025 but discontinued its popular Model S and Model X offerings this year to reallocate factory space at its Fremont, California, facility for production of humanoid robots and autonomous vehicle technology.
Other discontinuations this year, Masterson pointed out, included the Ford Escape, Ford F-150 Lightning, Lincoln Corsair and Volkswagen ID.4.
Some other mainstay models missed the list due to temporary production changes but are expected to return next year. Masterson pointed to the Toyota RAV4, which was only available via import during the period of data collection due to retooling at the Japanese automaker’s Kentucky plant, and the Kia Telluride, which skipped a model year.
The researcher said offerings from foreign brands like those have become increasingly common on the annual list.
“It always surprises consumers that several foreign automakers are on this list. I mean, it’s the American-Made Index, right? So you’re thinking domestic brands,” Masterson said in a press briefing. “But this is why we started the index in 2006. It’s to illustrate that the badge on the hood doesn’t always reveal a car’s economic contributions to the economy.”
“Domestic automakers account for 35% of this year’s index, while foreign automakers account for the other 65%. And international automakers have grown on this list about 5% since 2020, while domestic automakers are down 5% since that time period,” he added.
Honda, which operates assembly plants in Ohio, Indiana and Alabama, had five of the top 10 vehicles on the 2026 list. Its top-ranking model (No. 5) was the Honda Ridgeline pickup truck, which is made in Lincoln, Alabama.
“Year after year, Honda continues to earn recognition as one of the most American-made automotive brands, reflecting our deep investment in local manufacturing, a strong domestic supply base and the talented associates who bring our vehicles to life each day,” said Jun Jayaraman, a senior vice president of manufacturing for Honda, in a statement.
The company also noted in a press release that it has had 57 models in the top 10 of the index since it began in 2006. That ranks first among automakers, with GM in second place with 53.
A survey from Cars.com released in conjunction with the 2026 rankings found that buying an American vehicle matters to some shoppers, but price is a bigger concern. About 25% of consumers surveyed said impact on the U.S. economy was their first or second priority when buying a car or truck, while 67% said price was a top-two factor.
That was at odds with another finding: 57% of respondents said they were willing to pay extra for vehicles that create U.S. jobs, with over two-thirds of that subset saying they would pay an extra 5-10% more.
“There is a bit of a dichotomy there because affordability concerns are very prevalent,” said Amie Lindaas, director of research and insights for Cars.com.
“But it’s apparent that shoppers understand the importance of the automotive industry to our U.S. economy, and trying to keep jobs in the U.S. is important to a large chunk of car shoppers.”
gschwab@detroitnews.com
@GrantSchwab
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tesla again tops American-Made Index, one Detroit brand makes big leap
Reporting by Grant Schwab, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Grant Schwab, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
