The U.S. auto market is still struggling with a microchip shortage that is cutting into vehicle supplies. The total number of vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2022 dropped by more than 12% when compared to 2021’s first quarter – from nearly 4 million cars down to less than 3.5 million sold.
To determine the 25 best-selling American cars, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed sales data from vehicle data site GoodCarBadCar. reOnly models made by American companies were considered. Vehicles were ranked by total unit sales for the first three months of 2022.
Naturally, cars from the Big Three car companies – Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) – dominate the list. General Motors has the most models with 10, seven of them Chevrolet. Ford has seven models on the list, and Stellantis six. A relative newcomer, electric car manufacturer Tesla, also made the list with two models. These two EVs have rapidly become some of the hottest vehicles in the U.S., both ranking among the top three. And this is the best city for electric cars.
Of course, vehicles from U.S. automakers are not necessarily made in the USA. For example, several of the vehicles on the list are manufactured in Canada. Adding to these blurry lines is the fact that car parts are made all over the globe, and even if a car is assembled abroad, it often contains a percentage of U.S.-made components, and vice versa. Here is a list of the most American-made cars you can buy.
Also, many car companies are multinational entities. For example, Chrysler is based in Auburn Hill, Michigan, but itself is a subsidiary of Stellantis, an Italian-American conglomerate formed in 2021 after the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and France’s PSA Group. Stellantis is headquartered in Amsterdam.
Generally speaking, American brands of large SUVs and pickup trucks are more likely to be the “most American” vehicles on the market as the profit margins on these vehicles are considered by automakers to be wide enough that they can avoid outsourcing their manufacturing to low-cost factories outside of the U.S. And nearly all of the cars on this list are SUVs or larger vehicles.