EVs dominate the most American-made cars index and it’s not just because of Tesla

Tesla vehicles took the four top spots of the 2025 American-Made Index (AMI), an annual list calculated by Cars.com that ranks qualifying vehicles built and bought in the United States.

Tesla’s dominance in the AMI isn’t new. The U.S. automaker, which assembles its four light-duty passenger vehicles in Texas and California, has landed in the top 10 ever since it started participating in the annual ranking five years ago. This year, the Model 3 was ranked as the most “American-made” vehicle sold in the United States.

But here is what might surprise consumers — and even those who follow the industry: EVs took six of the top 10 spots in the American-Made Index. In addition to Tesla, the Kia EV6 and the Volkswagen ID.4 took the 6th and 10th spots, respectively.

The annual index ranks current model-year vehicles using five major factors, including the location of final assembly, percentage of U.S. and Canadian parts, countries of origin for all available engines, countries of origin for all available transmissions, and U.S. manufacturing workforce. Some 400 vehicles from the 2025 model year were studied to arrive at the 99 vehicles on the 2025 American-Made Index, according to Cars.com. Heavy-duty vehicles like the Tesla Cybertruck and the Rivian R1S, both of which are made in the U.S., don’t qualify.

The Kia EV6, which is assembled at the Korean automaker’s West Point, Georgia factory, took another eyebrow-raising prize. The Kia EV6 contains 80% U.S. and Canadian parts, the highest percentage of any vehicle sold in America today.

Cars.com noted that only eight EVs qualified for the 2024 index. This year, 11 battery-electric vehicles made it on the AMI, including the Ford F-150 Lightning, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, and the Kia EV9 SUV. And another 19 are hybrids and plug-in hybrids. The stats demonstrate “the industry’s push for electrification wasn’t mere lip service,” according to Cars.com.

The question is whether tariffs, higher prices, and the end of the federal EV tax credits (which the Senate has proposed in its tax and budget bill) will derail this electric trajectory.