Ford Ranger ranks No. 1 on Made in America Auto Index

Ford Motor Co. finished first with the Ford Ranger in a study that ranks a vehicle's American makeup.

The Ranger knocked out last year's victors, the Chevrolet Corvette and Volt, in the 2020 Kogod Made in America Auto Index, which measures U.S. and Canadian content in vehicles.

But General Motors still finished first this year in total domestic content among manufacturers.

"Introduced last year after an eight-year hiatus, this year's Ranger now boasts a US-sourced engine, as well as a jump in US/Canadian parts content from 50 to 70 percent," the index said. "Its domestic content score is 85 compared to its score of 61 in 2019."

In second place, by 2 points, was the automatic transmission-equipped Chevrolet Camaro.

Vehicle score includes profit, labor, R&D, inventory and capital, engine, and body interior electrical.

The study uses data from the American Automobile Labeling Act, which combines U.S. and Canadian content into one number.

"The rule permits an automaker to take a part that might only have 70 percent to round up to 100 percent U.S./Canadian," Frank DuBois, director of the study, told Automotive News.
There were 372 vehicles in the index. Among them, 73 tied for last place, ranking 101st with a score of 1.

GM secured the top two spots in 2019, with the Chevrolet Corvette and Volt both scoring 84. The Corvette moved down to third this year, with a 2-point reduction.

Meanwhile, DuBois said several Tesla models moved up into the top 10, mainly because of more access to information.

When calculated by automaker, the index showed GM remained the overall winner, with total domestic content for U.S.-made vehicles of 70.6 percent, up from 70 percent in 2019. GM's total for all vehicles fell to 58.2 percent from 58.5 percent last year.

Ford finished second overall, with domestic content of 67.6 percent on U.S.-made vehicles, down from 70 percent in 2019. Among all its vehicles, Ford tied with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles with 55 percent domestic content, down from 57 percent last year.

Volvo finished last on the list, with 30 percent domestic content on its U.S.-made vehicles. BMW was second lowest, at 33.3 percent.

This is the seventh year the study has been conducted by American University's Kogod School of Business.