Cars.Com Names Tesla Model 3 Most American-Made Vehicle in 2021
The Cars.com American-Made Index has crowned the Tesla Model 3 as the most American-made vehicle for 2021. The index has been running since 2006 and Marketwatch noted that this is the first time an all-electric car has claimed the title. The index compiled a list of 90 cars and ranked them through five major criteria:
- Location of final assembly
- Percentage of U.S. and Canadian parts
- Country of origin for available engines
- Country of origin for available transmissions
- U.S. manufacturing employees relative to the automaker’s footprint
Cars.com stated that Tesla has the number one spot for the first time and that it topped the Ford Mustang, which was number 2, to lead the index in 2021. Following the Tesla Model 3 and the Ford Mustang are the Tesla Model Y, Jeep Cherokee, and Chevrolet Corvette.
Here are the top ten American-made cars of 2021 in order from highest rank to the lowest.
1. Tesla Model 3
2. Ford Mustang
3. Tesla Model Y
4. Jeep Cherokee
5. Chevrolet Corvette
6. Honda Ridgeline
7. Honda Odyssey
8. Honda Pilot
9. Honda Passport.
Cars.com noted that Tesla’s prominence came just a year after its first participation when it started providing the information required for the index. Tesla landed three vehicles in 2020’s top ten, but Cars.com didn’t have enough information to rank the Model Y. At that time, Tesla was still ramping up production. This year, the Tesla Model S and X are not included in the index due to lack of sufficient data to rank them — both vehicles have updated versions that went on sale during the 2021 model year this spring.
Cars.com noted that the most important qualifier for a model to make the index is the final assembly at one of 45 U.S. plants that currently mass-produce light-duty passenger vehicles. Cars.com adopted the Federal Highway Administration’s definition of light-duty vehicles, which allows for a gross vehicle weight rating of up to 10,000 pounds.
All photos by Zach Shahan, CleanTechnica
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Latest CleanTechnica.TV Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
