America’s ‘Most Patriotic Brand’ Is Far From the Most Made in the USA
No one would argue that Jeep’s marketing department hasn’t been able to position its SUVs as icons of patriotism. Brand Keys’ 23rd annual Most Patriotic Brands survey yet again named Jeep #1, beating out automakers such as Ford and Harley Davidson, as well as Levi Strauss, Coca-Cola, Walmart, and Disney. But when Cars.com ranked the 2024 models with the most claim to being made in the USA, only Jeep’s Gladiator landed in the top 20. In fact, the big winners were Tesla, Honda, and Toyota.
| Rank | Model | Assembly Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | Austin, TX & Fremont, CA |
| 2 | Honda Passport | Lincoln, AL |
| 3 | Volkswagen ID.4 | Chattanooga, TN |
| 4 | Tesla Model S | Fremont, CA |
| 5 | Honda Odyssey | Lincoln, AL |
| 6 | Honda Ridgeline | Lincoln, AL |
| 7 | Toyota Camry | Georgetown, KY |
| 8 | Jeep Gladiator | Toledo, OH |
| 9 | Tesla Model X | Fremont, CA |
| 10 | Lexus TX | Princeton, IN |
| 11 | Toyota Highlander | Princeton, IN |
| 12 | Acura RDX | East Liberty, OH |
| 13 | Honda Accord | Marysville, OH |
| 14 | Honda Pilot | Lincoln, AL |
| 15 | Acura MDX | East Liberty, OH |
| 16 | Toyota Grand Highlander | Princeton, IN |
| 17 | Acura Integra | Marysville, OH |
| 18 | Acura TLX | Marysville, OH |
| 19 | Ram 1500 Classic | Warren, MI |
| 20 | Toyota Tundra | San Antonio, TX |
The dominance of “foreign” automakers on this list may be shocking to some. The Wrangler, assembled alongside the Gladiator in Toledo, Ohio landed at #30. The Wagoneer series, all built in Warren, Michigan, got #44. The Jeep Grand Cherokee, made right in Detroit, got #45. The Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid earned #57, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrid came in at #63. The Jeep Compass, which is assembled in Italy, didn’t make Cars.com’s list.
So how can Jeep’s SUVs, at least the ones assembled in the U.S., earn such poor rankings? The difference is in where their parts come from.
First and foremost, every Jeep on the Cars.com index beat out 300 models that didn’t even make the list–most of which are assembled abroad. Every Jeep but the Compass is indeed assembled in the U.S., and does create some manufacturing jobs here. That said, let’s see why some other automakers are more “American-made.”
The Cars.com team considered five aspects of each model. The first four must legally be printed on the window sticker of every new car, SUV, and light truck. They are: location of final assembly, motor’s country of origin, transmission’s country of origin, and percentage of parts that originate in the U.S. or Canada. Cars.com also looked up the number of employees each automaker has manufacturing cars in the U.S., and compared that to its total number of employees.
So what’s going on with Jeep? Its parent company, Stellantis, is making many components overseas. Stellantis includes 15 brands, from Maserati, to Peugeot, to Alfa Romeo, to everything in the old Chrysler Corporation. For example, Stellantis assembles all of the Wagoneer’s V8 Hemi engines, and I6 “Hurricane” engines alongside heavy-duty Ram trucks in Mexico.
The Jeep Gladiator is an interesting case. On last year’s index, it landed at #27. For 2024, it climbed to #8. Why? A large part of this might have been Jeep cancelling the “EcoDiesel” engine option, which was a 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel built in Italy.
Next, read about the 1 Jeep that landed on the 2023 American-made list, or see how “American” your car is in the video below:
