Originally posted at msn.com:
Kyle Lahucik
While
Donald Trump has been pressing for tariffs on foreign-made cars and parts, it
turns out the most American-made cars sold in the U.S. today are usually
Japanese.
The
annual “American-Made Index” compiled by Cars.com found nine of the 15 most
U.S.-sourced vehicles are manufactured by Honda and Toyota. The two Japanese
automakers dominated the latest study thanks to the big number of popular
vehicles they assemble in America and their high content of U.S.-made parts.
“It’s
not surprising that there’s a lot of vehicles here from Honda,” Kelsey Mays,
senior editor of Cars.com, said in an interview. About two-thirds of Honda’s
cars are assembled in the U.S., which is more than General Motors Co. and Fiat
Chrysler Automobiles NV, Mays said. Toyota also sells mostly American-made
vehicles in the U.S. market.
The
2019 study, published Tuesday, takes into account many of the issues Trump has
stumped about when it comes to the automotive trade. Cars.com examined assembly
location, parts sourcing as determined by the American Automobile Labeling Act,
factory employment relative to sales and sourcing of engines and transmissions.
The five factors aren’t equally weighed and Mays declined to give details of
the breakdown.
Fiat
Chrysler’s Jeep Cherokee SUV topped the list, and GM’s Chevrolet Corvette
sports car placed fifth. But Japanese automakers dominated the ranking just as
they did in 2018. The study, which debuted in 2006, was redesigned in 2017.
While
Japanese nameplates are among the most American-made, some American brand icons
are not in the Top 10. One common misconception involves Ford Motor Co.’s
F-150, America’s longtime best-selling vehicle: Some 71% of respondents
believed it to be the most American vehicle on the road, but Cars.com said it
actually ranked No. 13.
Many
U.S. consumers give preferential consideration to American-made vehicles,
according to the survey. But nearly 50% of respondents said they were very or
somewhat concerned about the impact of tariffs on their new car purchasing
decisions.
Cars.com
hasn’t seen a massive relocation of production in a way that would influence
its rankings despite the Trump administration’s imposition of tariffs on China
and threats to do so on European and Japanese imports. Mays said Ford and GM
have indicated “a few employment changes” because of the tariffs, but no
automaker has significantly altered its assembly lines or supply chains in
reaction to trade policy. Still, such changes could be coming -- and would
likely raise costs for car buyers, he said.
The
White House delayed imposing tariffs on
imported vehicles from the European Union, Japan and other nations on May 17
for 180 days. Earlier this month, the administration denied a GM request to
exclude its Chinese-made Buick Envision from a 25% import duty.
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