If there’s one thing that’s for certain about President Trump’s twisted labyrinth of international trade tariffs, it’s that U.S. consumers will pay more in the months ahead for a new car, truck or SUV.
As it stands so far, a 25% tariff on all cars and light-duty trucks imported into the U.S., along with major components like engines, transmissions, powertrain parts and electrical components went into effect on April 2. While that was 24 hours too late to be considered an April Fool’s Day prank, it’s still going to feel like slipping on a banana peel for new vehicle buyers, though some will likely suffer more than others.
At one time, it used to be crystal clear that a vehicle coming from either of the “Big Three” Detroit automakers would be considered 100% American, while those being brought here from Europe or Japan (and later South Korea) would fall cleanly into the import category. However, the lines between the two have blurred considerably in recent decades.
Import brands including Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Kia, Subaru, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and BMW now build hundreds of thousands of vehicles in America-based factories. Conversely, some models from the domestic brands are assembled in Canada and Mexico, or are imported directly from South Korea, Italy or China. Sources suggest around 46% of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. last year were built elsewhere in the world.
And thanks to globalization, even the “most American” cars and trucks contain some measure of imported content. Reports say that many cars built in the U.S contain 40% to 50% or more import-sourced parts and materials.
Parsing out the math on each model coming off a U.S. assembly line to determine the exact tariff to be applied can be a daunting challenge. It’s made head-achingly complicated in that major components and the vehicles themselves often crisscross borders multiple times on the way to their final assembly and ultimately dealers’ showrooms, These could pile on the tariff charges in the process, perhaps to ridiculously high amounts. Plus, the exact percentage of imported content on a given model might vary from one trim level to another, or may depend on which options are included.
Also, it’s unclear how much of a given model’s tariffs will be passed on directly to consumers or will be absorbed by the automakers as part of the cost of doing business, either as per-model price increases or “additional tariff charges” noted on their Monroney stickers. Some analysts predict the average new-vehicle’s sticker price could well swell from around $5,000 to as much as $15,000 when all is said and done.
As it stands, such price increases may take some weeks, and perhaps months to fully surface, depending on the breadth of vehicles and parts already in the supply chain (and there’s always the possibility Trump will change course on imported cars and other goods in one direction or the other in the coming weeks and months). Astute car shoppers will want to know before setting foot on a showroom floor which models will inherently carry less of a tariff penalty than others. Already Ford has started a “From America, For America” ad campaign that highlights its most-American models.
Since determining which vehicles for sale are more domestically contented than others can be a daunting challenge, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires automakers to provide consumers with data regarding the country of origin of every vehicle (and their components) sold in the U.S. The estimated percentage of North American parts used, where the vehicle is assembled and countries of origin for the engine and transmission is noted on each new vehicle’s so-called “Monroney” sticker.
Rather than having to visit one showroom after another to gather this information, American University’s Kogod School of Business compiles its annual “Made in America Auto Index” to determine which current new vehicles contribute the most to the U.S. economy.
In addition to where a car or truck is assembled and the origin of the engine, transmission, body, interior, chassis, electrical and other components, the study accounts for where research and development was conducted and in which country the profits generated by each model ultimately wind up. Unfortunately, since the index is based in part on the aforementioned information compiled and issued by NHTSA, it’s not 100% accurate with regard to assembly and component content coming from Canada, as the agency treats both U.S. and Canadian (but not Mexican) assembly and content as being North American, and therefore domestic in origin.
Trump’s pal and DOGE advisor Elon Musk stands to come out the most ahead in the tariff wars, as Tesla leads the industry with an average 81% domestic content, placing five of its models atop the current index. While one tends to think of pickup trucks being all-American vehicles, the highest rated model in the genre is the Honda Ridgeline, being tied for ninth place and sitting way higher than the industry’s top-selling F-150 truck (at number 22) in Kogod’s current index.
The ‘Most American’ Cars, Trucks And SUVs
These are the models the current Made in America Auto Index says are most likely to be slapped with the lowest tariffs moving forward, with their estimated percentages of domestic content noted:
1. Tesla Model 3 Performance (87.5%)
2. Tesla Model Y (85.0%)
3. Tesla Cybertruck (82.5%)
4. Tesla Model S (80.0%)
4. Tesla Model X (80.0%)
4. Ford Mustang GT (80.0%)
5. Honda Passport (76.5%)
6. Jeep Wrangler (76.0%)
7. Volkswagen ID.4 AWD (75.5%)
7. Chevrolet Colorado (75.5%)
7. GMC Canyon (75.5%)
8. Volkswagen ID.4 RWD (74.5%)
9. Honda Odyssey (74.0%)
9. Honda Ridgeline (74.0%)
9. Honda Pilot (74.0%)
10. Lincoln Corsair (73.5%)
11. Lucid Air (73.0%)
11. Mustang GT w/manual trans (73.0%)
12. Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (72.5%)
13. Lexus TX 350 (71.5%)
13. Acura RDX (71.5%)
13. Honda Accord (71.5%)
13. Acura TLX (71.5%)
13. Acura Integra A-Spec (71.5%)
14. Tesla Model 3 RWD (70.0%)
14. Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray (70%)
15. Chevrolet Malibu (69.5%)
15. Cadillac XT4 (69.5%)
16. Kia K5 (69.0%)
16. Kia Sorento (69.0%)
16. Honda CR-V (69.0%)
16. Honda Civic (69.0%)
16. Acura Integra (69.0%)
16. Cadillac CT5 (69.0%)
16. Cadillac CT4 (69.0%)
17. Chevrolet Tahoe 4WD Diesel (68.5%)
17. Cadillac Escalade (68.5%)
17. Chevrolet Suburban 4WD Premier (68.5%)
17. GMC Yukon 4WD Denali (68.5%)
17. Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab 4WD Diesel (68.5%)
18. GMC Hummer EV (68.0%)
19. Tesla Model 3 Long Range (67.5%)
20. Toyota Camry (67%)
Source: American University’s Kogod School of Business Made in America Auto Index.
The full list of cars can be found here.
