Tesla Is The Most ‘Made In America’ Automaker Again — Here Are The Top Models
Tesla’s headquarters in Austin, Texas, has a giant American flag flying out front and it should be waving a little harder right now.
The automaker has once again topped the annual Made In America Auto Index compiled by American University’s Kogod School of Business.
The index considers several factors to calculate the impact that a vehicle’s manufacturing and sale has on the U.S. economy. They include where the vehicle is assembled, where its parts come from and where the automaker’s headquarters are located.
Tesla was the top overall brand with a Total Domestic Content score of 87 out of 100. That’s up from 77 in 2015. While Tesla builds vehicles in China and Europe, every one it sells in the U.S. is assembled locally.
Honda was a distant second at 56, which is up from 50 a decade ago, while Ford was third at 55, dropping from 65. GM was next at 53 and Stellantis (parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram) was the last of the U.S. Big Four at 50.
Here are the top individual models:
1. TESLA MODEL 3 LONG RANGE: 87.5
The Tesla Model 3 Long Range is built at the company’s Fremont, Calif., factory.
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2. (TIE) TESLA MODEL 3 PERFORMANCE: 85
The Model 3 Performance features a 510 hp all-wheel-drive powertrain.
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2. (TIE) TESLA MODEL Y LONG RANGE: 85
Tesla builds the Model Y for U.S. sales at both its Fremont and Austin, Texas, factories.
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2. (TIE) TESLA MODEL Y PERFORMANCE: 85
The Model Y Performance can accelerate to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds and hit a 155 mph top speed.
5. (TIE) TESLA CYBERTRUCK: 82.5
The Cybertruck is built exclusively at Tesla’s Austin Gigafactory.
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5. (TIE) TESLA MODEL S: 82.5
The Model S was Tesla’s first volume product and has always been built at the Fremont factory.
7. JEEP GLADIATOR: 81
The Gladiator pickup shares its styling and Toledo, Ohio, assembly plant with the Wrangler.
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8. DODGE DURANGO: 80.5
The third-generation Durango has been built at the Jefferson North Assembly plant in Detroit since it was originally introduced in 2011.
9. TESLA MODEL X: 80
The Model X is assembled alongside the Model S in Fremont.
10. (TIE) JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE: 79.5
The Grand Cherokee is built at Jefferson North Assembly with the Durango.
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10. (TIE) JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE L: 79.5
The Grand Cherokee L is a stretched three-row version of the Grand Cherokee, but it’s built across the street from it at the Mack Avenue Assembly plant.
12. (TIE) CHEVROLET EXPRESS: 78.5
The Chevrolet Express is about to enter its 30th year of production at GM’s Wentzville Assembly plant in Missouri.
12. (TIE) GMC SAVANA: 78.5
The GMC Savana is mechanically identical to the Chevy Express and assembled at the same factory.
14. (TIE) JEEP WRANGLER: 78
Jeep has been named The Most Patriotic Brand for the past 24 years by leveraging its World War 2 roots, but the modern version of its original model doesn’t have the same domestic impact as the Gladiator it shares an assembly plant with.
14. (TIE) KIA EV6: 78
The EV6 was originally manufactured in South Korea, but Kia started building it in Georgia last year.
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