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Here Are the Top 10 Most American Cars of 2022
American University's annual survey of domestic content reveals the vehicles that qualify as the "most American."
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Professor Frank L. DuBois of the Department of Information Technology and Analytics, in American University's Kogod School of Business, has finished crunching the data analyzing the domestic content of new vehicles to determine the ones that can be identified as the "most American" for 2022.
DuBois's team breaks down the definition by looking at seven fundamental attributes. They are:
Profit Margin: Measured based on the location of an automaker's headquarters. If an automaker's global headquarters is located in the US, the model receives a 6; if not, it receives a 0. The assumption here is that an average of 6 percent of a vehicle's value is profit margin, so profits remain in the country if the automaker is US-based.
Labor. Where the car is assembled. If a model is assembled in the US, it receives a 6; if not, the model receives a 0. We assume that approximately 6 percent of the vehicle's value is labor content.
Research and Development (R&D). The location of a car's R&D activities. If the model is a product of a US company, it receives a 6. If it is the product of a foreign company but is assembled in the U.S. it receives a 3; if it is a foreign import it receives a 1.
Inventory, Capital, and Other Expenses. If assembly occurs in the US, the model receives an 11; if not, it receives a 0.
Engine. If the engine is produced in the US, the model receives a 14; if not it receives a 0.
Transmission. If the transmission is produced in the US, the model receives a 7; if not it receives a 0.
Body, Chassis, and Electrical Components. 50 percent of a vehicle's score is assigned to this category. The AALA percentage is divided into two to derive this score.
This year's list mark's AU's tenth such round up, and DuBois was able to identify some trends over that time. "When considering the changes in domestic content since 2015 by manufacturers with significant sales and operations in the USA, we found that foreign manufacturers were more likely to increase US sourcing overall than US manufacturers," the report states. Additionally, changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement are further expected to incentivize manufacturers to shift even more production to the U.S., the report speculates.
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