U.S. automobile factories run by foreign brands built more cars than Ford, GM and Stellantis in 2023, according to a new report.
It marks the first time that’s ever happened and it wasn’t even close.
The foreign brands cranked out 4.9 million vehicles while the total for the Detroit Three was 4.6 million. That represents a gain of 500,000 and los of 150,000, respectively, from 2022.
However, Tesla, Rivian and Lucid production adds 754,342 to the U.S. brand tally to put it back ahead.
THE 2024 US-BUILT CAR OF THE YEAR AWARDS™
The report was released by Autos Drive America and the American International Automobile Dealers Association, two groups that represent foreign-owned automobile operations in the U.S.
Among the foreign brand vehicles built in the U.S., 762,500 were exported to other countries.
All told, the report says that the foreign operations support 2.4 million direct and indirect jobs and account for $37.9 billion in state and local tax revenue.
Volkswagen became the first European brand to build vehicles in the U.S. after World War 2 when it opened a factory in Pennsylvania in 1978 and Honda led the way for the Japanese makes in Ohio in 1982. Today vehicles from more than a dozen foreign nameplates are manufactured in the U.S.
Honda’s Acura brand is one of just three full-line automakers that manufactures all of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. within the U.S., the others being Cadillac and Tesla.
Two out of five American Cars And Racing 2024 US-Built Car of the Year Award-winners were from international brands, including the Acura Integra Type S, which is built in Ohio, and the Alabama-made Hyundai Santa Fe.
Several new facilities are under construction, including Hyundai’s new electric vehicle plant in Georgia and a Volkswagen-owned factory in South Carolina where it will build a line of electric trucks for the rebooted Scout brand.