Are Ford and GM Still American?

For decades, Ford and General Motors have been symbols of American industry, the pride of the blue passes and the heart of the heart. From the Robust Ford F-15 to the Chevy All-American, the Detroit Big Three-Ford, GM and Chrysler (which are now part of Stellantis)-have dominated the automotive market with vehicles built and sold in the United States. The Ford F-150 is a cultural symbol.

For many, Detroit remains the heart of the American automotive industry, a perception reinforced by billions of dollars in recent investments aimed at conquering the electrical and autonomous vehicle markets. But a new ranking calls into question all this identity.

The annual American manufacturing index of CarritNow in his 20th year, he has just been released, and he depicts a surprising image. The list, which classifies vehicles based on factors such as American factory jobs, manufacturing factories and percentage of domestic parts, reveals how “American” car is. And this year, the results are a nightmare for the old guard.

In a list of the first 20 dominated by Tesla, the inherited American brands are almost not found. GM managed to place a single vehicle, the Chevy Colorado pick -up, at a level 19. Ford has no models in the Top 20 at all. Meanwhile, each Tesla model – with the exception of Cybertruck – made the list, the 3 model taking first place. Even Stellantis saved the face with the Jeep Gladiator and Wrangler, both assembled in Toledo, Ohio. Meanwhile, Japanese and Korean car manufacturers – including Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Kia – also highly placed, with several models assembled in American plants.

This ranking landed at a politically busy moment. President Donald J. Trump launched a new trade war, recently imposing a 25% rate on all imported cars that came into force on April 3. The administration defended a philosophy of manufacturing “America First”, but the most emblematic manufacturers of the country build cars which, by this metric, less American than their foreign competitors.

When contacted by Gizmodo, GM and Ford have diverted, choosing to highlight their investments and their job creation numbers rather than responding to their poor performance in the ranking.

“We have added around 13,000 jobs to the United States since 2008,” said a spokesperson for Ford, noting that the company employs more car workers every hour than anyone in the United States “80% of the vehicles we sell in the United States are assembled here.”

GM underlined a recent announcement promising an investment of $ 4 billion in its domestic factories. “We are involved in American manufacturing and expanded production in the United States,” said a spokesperson in Gizmodo.

To be fair, the two companies are massive American employers. At the end of 2024, GM employed 90,000 people in the country (56% of its global workforce), while Ford employed almost 89,000 (52% of its total). GM is still the largest car manufacturer in the United States by market share.

But the CARS criteria. It examines the origins of engines and transmissions and the percentage of us and Canadian parties. The website warns that “the simple fact that a model can be made in an American assembly plant does not necessarily mean that it is exclusively manufactured here.”

For companies that have built their brands on an American identity basis, the fact that their vehicles do not even break the top 15 is a terrible look. This suggests that in the globalized automotive industry, the “American -made” label is much more complicated than it seems.