WASHINGTON — For the sixth year in a row, a model from Elon Musk-led electric vehicle giant Tesla Inc. topped the 2026 Cars.com American-Made Index, while an offering from rugged Stellantis NV brand Jeep showed the greatest improvement among Detroit Three nameplates.
Jeep landed two 2026 models in the top five: the Gladiator and the Grand Cherokee, which saw a dramatic 66-place jump in the rankings thanks to a “staggering” 14% increase in U.S.-Canadian parts content over the past year. Crosstown rivals Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co., meanwhile, did not register any models in the top 10.
“The Jeep brand is proud to see two of our nameplates — Jeep Gladiator and Jeep Grand Cherokee — in the top five of the Cars.com American-Made Index,” a statement from Stellantis said. “It further underscores that the Jeep brand has been named the most patriotic brand for 25 years in a row by Brand Keys. As part of the Stellantis FaSTLAne 2030 strategy, we’re accelerating the Jeep brand’s global growth, including a strong commitment to North America.”
The Cars.com list, which started in 2006, has become a notable indicator in the automotive world amid political and economic concerns over the decline of U.S. manufacturing in a key sector. President Donald Trump has been an especially vocal critic of that decline, though his record on reversing decades-long offshoring trends has been mixed so far across his two terms in office.
The newest edition of annual rankings from the online car and truck marketplace had fewer vehicles (86) qualify than last year (99). The list ranks light-duty vehicles of sufficient sales volume using a mix of factors, including U.S.-Canadian parts content as reported under the American Automobile Labeling Act, where a vehicle’s powertrain comes from, location of final assembly and number of U.S. manufacturing employees relative to overall footprint.