In the top spot is the Ford Ranger with 85 percent domestic content score compared to its score of 61 in 2019.

This year, the Ford Ranger replaces the automatic transmission Corvette and the discontinued Chevy Volt in the top spot. Introduced last year after an eight-year hiatus, this year’s Ranger now boasts a US-sourced engine, as well as a jump in US/Canadian parts content from 50 to 70 percent. Its domestic content score is 85 compared to its score of 61 in 2019. In second place is the automatic transmission-equipped Chevy Camaro with a score of 83—its manual transmission-equipped version comes in at seventh place, thanks to a foreign-sourced transmission. In the third spot is the new Corvette and gas-powered versions of the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon.

Two versions of the Jeep Cherokee again show up in the top five in fourth place. Five vehicles tied for fifth place—the Ford Explorer, Cadillac CT4 and CT5, and Tesla’s Model S and Y. Another 17 cars round out the final five, with the Cadillac XT4 at sixth place. The aforementioned manual transmission Camaro Cadillac’s XT5 and XT6, GMC’s Acadia, Acura’s TLX, and Honda’s Passport, Ridgeline, and Odyssey come in seventh place. Ford’s Expedition and two automatic transmission versions of the Mustang take the eighth position. The Ford F-150, Lincoln’s Aviator, and Tesla’s Model 3 Long Range and Model X tie for ninth. And, finally, another Jeep Cherokee takes the tenth spot.

One point back in eleventh are five Honda models and the Toyota Camry. Other than the big jump by the Ford Ranger, there was limited movement in position by most vehicles.

2021 Results

Looking at US content by brand illustrates the degree that manufacturers rely on US production across their product lines (see table). When looking at average total domestic content (TDC) by manufacturers for cars assembled in the US, one finds a high of GM, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler at 65-70 percent and a low of BMW and Volvo at 33 and 30 percent, respectively.

Comparing this across all vehicles sold in the US by brand, irrespective of location of assembly, results in the following chart which shows the relationship between TDC for US-assembled vehicles compared to all vehicles in a manufacturer’s product line sold in the US. Honda, GM, Ford, and FCA, for example, average much higher overall TDC than VW and Volvo. This gives an idea of the extent to which the US market is served by local manufacturing.

When comparing the difference between total TDC for US-assembled cars and overall average TDC for all cars, it indicates the extent that the manufacturer serves the US market from a local base. In the case of non-US-headquartered manufacturers, Honda boasts a strong lead in this category, with overall TDC ranking a close second to GM. Toyota, even though it has a huge manufacturing presence in the US, has a much lower overall TDC average when their imported vehicles are averaged into the total. This is likely the result of imports of their high-end Lexus brand and other cars from Japan. In contrast, Honda’s high-end brand, Acura, is more likely to be assembled in the US. 

[1] Note that Tesla has never been very compliant with this requirement and it was only after visiting two dealerships in the DC area that I was able to acquire the AALA data for one of the three 2019 models.