How to understand the American Made Index
The American Made Index (AMI) is Cars.com’s annual ranking that identifies the vehicles contributing most to the U.S. economy. Understanding what the AMI measures and where it appears on Cars.com can help dealers recognize which vehicles in their inventory align with shopper interest in domestic manufacturing and economic impact.
The AMI helps shoppers find vehicles that are truly American-made by analyzing data from more than 400 vehicles sold in the U.S. market each model year.
What is the American Made Index?
The American Made Index is an independent, data-driven study conducted by Cars.com that ranks vehicles built and bought in the U.S. Unlike simply looking at a brand’s headquarters location, the AMI digs deeper into where vehicles are actually manufactured, where their components come from, and how many American workers are involved in building them.
Each year, Cars.com experts evaluate over 400 vehicles to identify the 99 that qualify for the index. Vehicles are scored on a 100-point scale, with the goal of helping shoppers understand which cars and trucks provide the greatest economic impact to the United States.
The 5 ranking factors
The American Made Index evaluates vehicles based on five major criteria:
- Final Assembly Location
To qualify for the index, a vehicle must be assembled at a U.S. plant. Currently, the AMI tracks 46 U.S. manufacturing facilities operated by 13 major automaker groups and their subsidiaries. This is often considered the most important qualifying factor. - Percentage of U.S. and Canadian Parts
This factor measures the domestic parts content as reported under the American Automobile Labeling Act (AALA). Automakers are required to disclose this percentage on window stickers for new vehicles. The data combines U.S. and Canadian content since the AALA does not distinguish between the two countries. - Engine Origin
The AMI considers where a vehicle’s available engines are manufactured. Since a model may offer multiple engine options from different countries, Cars.com applies sales-weighted scoring to account for these variations. - Transmission Origin
Similar to engine sourcing, the country of origin for available transmissions is factored into the ranking. This helps identify which major components are domestically produced versus imported. - U.S. Manufacturing Workforce
This factor evaluates U.S. factory employment relative to vehicle production. It accounts for the number of American workers involved in building vehicles at each plant, recognizing that manufacturing supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country.
How the rankings work
Vehicles are ranked on a 100-point comparative scale based on performance across all five factors. While Cars.com does not publicly disclose the exact weighting or calculation methodology, each factor contributes to the vehicle’s final score.
The score is intended to compare vehicles against one another rather than represent an absolute measure of how “American-made” a vehicle is.
When two vehicles receive identical scores, heavier curb weight is used as the tiebreaker.
The published index includes 99 base nameplates. Additional trims or variants of those nameplates may appear beyond position 99 and are grouped under their parent model.
Why the AMI matters for dealers
The American Made Index provides valuable context for dealers looking to connect with shopper priorities:
- Respond to tariff concerns: With 73% of shoppers saying they’d consider an American-built vehicle to avoid added tariff costs,1 highlighting AMI-qualifying inventory can address a top-of-mind concern.
- Differentiate your inventory: AMI badges on your listings provide third-party credibility that sets qualifying vehicles apart from competitors.
- Support value conversations: When shoppers are willing to pay up to 20% more for vehicles supporting U.S. jobs (74% according to Cars.com research1), the AMI gives your team data-backed talking points.
- Leverage editorial authority: Cars.com’s 20-year track record with the AMI carries weight with shoppers researching their options.
Where AMI badges appear on Cars.com
Vehicles that qualify for the American Made Index receive badging across Cars.com to help shoppers identify American-made options. Here’s where your qualifying inventory will display AMI recognition:
- Vehicle Detail Pages (VDPs): Qualifying vehicles display an American Made Index badge on their listing, highlighting their ranking and assembly location. This badge helps differentiate your inventory and builds shopper confidence.
- Search Results Pages (SRPs): AMI award winner badges appear alongside other editorial badges like Best Of awards and Car Seat Safety ratings, giving your listings additional credibility.
- AMI Landing Page: The full rankings at cars.com/american-made-index drive traffic to qualifying vehicle listings. Shoppers researching American-made options can click through directly to your inventory.
- Research Section: AMI badges appear throughout the Cars.com Research section, connecting editorial content to relevant vehicle listings.
FAQs
Why are U.S. and Canadian parts combined?
The American Automobile Labeling Act (AALA) requires automakers to report combined U.S./Canadian content. Public data does not exist to distinguish between the two, so Cars.com compensates by separately factoring engine and transmission origins.
Can any vehicle be 100% American-made?
No vehicle has achieved 100% domestic parts content in the history of the index. Modern automotive manufacturing involves complex global supply chains, making complete domestic production impractical.
Why might a vehicle from an American brand rank low?
Brand headquarters location doesn’t determine ranking. A vehicle from an American-based company may be assembled overseas or use a high percentage of imported parts, which would lower its AMI score.
How often is the index updated?
The American Made Index is published annually, typically in mid-June. The rankings reflect the current model year’s vehicle data.
1 Cars.com Consumer Survey, May 28–June 6, 2025.
