When most people think about where their car was made, they most often consider where their car was assembled. Every vehicle is a collection of thousands of parts, big and small, and quite often those parts come from all over the world. In the overall scheme of things, very few cars are assembled from parts that were manufactured in a single country.
You might expect that cars whose brand names suggest a particular country of origin — say Japan for Nissan, Sweden for Volvo, and the USA for Chevrolet — are predominantly built from parts that were manufactured in that country. But that is not always the case. In some instances, a car with a Hyundai badge might have a higher percentage of American parts than one bearing a Buick badge. Vehicle manufacturing supply chains and logistics are extremely complicated, and the goal of carmakers is to build cars and trucks people want to buy, regardless of where the parts come from.
Knowing a car’s origins is important, as this can affect quality, regulations and resale value. We’ll explain how to determine where your car was built.
Why Does a Car’s Origin Matter?
Impact on Quality, Safety and Reliability
Safety standards, quality control and regulations vary from country to country. Once you know where your car was made, you’ll have a better idea about the standards it was built under. This is important as it can affect safety features, reliability and overall quality.
A country’s environmental and fuel efficiency regulations may also impact how a car is made. So a European car might have different standards to one made in the US.
Resale Value and Market Perception
Cars from certain countries, like Japan or Germany, may have better resale value because of how they are perceived in the market. Cars from countries with a reputation for durability and quality can have better financial returns when it comes to reselling a car.
How to Determine Where Your Car Was Built
Checking the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number)
A car's VIN is a 17-digit code composed of capital letters and numbers that uniquely identifies a vehicle. It is typically etched or attached at a number of places, but the easiest to access it is the VIN plate that is visible through the windshield on the driver's side of the car's dashboard.
Each letter or number provides a specific item of information about the car including the model year, make, model, engine size, and manufacturer. To answer the question of where your car was made, the VIN's first digit (sometimes a letter) is the operative piece of code, for example:
- 1, 4, or 5 = United States
- 2 = Canada
- 3 = Mexico
- J = Japan
- K = South Korea
- S = England
- W = Germany
- Z = Italy
If you simply care about the country in which your vehicle was assembled, decoding the first digit is enough.
However, some other useful parts might tell you more about where your car was made. Digit 11 identifies the assembly plant, while the last six digits of a VIN identify the vehicle's place in the assembly plant's production run.
Reading Manufacturer Labels and Stickers
The US passed a law in 1994 called the American Automobile Labeling Act (AALA) which requires carmakers to label each new passenger vehicle with several valuable pieces of information. Perhaps the most important are:
- Percentage of US and Canadian parts it contains.
- Names of countries that contribute 15% or more of the car’s parts and those percentages.
- The assembly plant’s city, state, and country.
This information will appear on a car’s Monroney label, on the window sticker of a new car, so it’s important to keep this to hand even after purchase. The AALA also specifies that the manufacturer must reveal the country of origin of major parts like the engine and the transmission.
Using Online Tools and Databases
If the car’s VIN is inaccessible to you and you'd still like to learn where your car was built, the consumer websites of major auto brands will typically offer that information. It is unlikely that the information will be easy to find there, however. Third-party auto information sites might also list the assembly sites for various cars, trucks, and vans in their specifications sections.
If you have the VIN, another online source of information about your specific vehicle is a VIN "decoder." This service is currently being offered by several third-party websites. Inputting the VIN can enable a VIN decoder to provide information about where your car was made.
Major Car Manufacturers and Their Production Locations
Most car manufacturers have multiple production locations, so it is difficult to determine exactly where a car was made.
American Brands
Let’s look at where American brands manufacture their cars.
GM
Headquarters: Detroit, Michigan, USA
Key production sites: USA, Canada, Mexico, China, South Korea and Brazil
Ford
Headquarters: Detroit, Michigan, USA
Key production sites: USA, Canada, Mexico, China, India and Germany
Tesla
Headquarters: Palo Alto, California, USA
Key production sites: USA and China
European Brands
Here is a breakdown of where European brands manufacture their cars.
Volkswagen
Headquarters: Wolfsburg, Germany
Key production sites: Germany, USA, Mexico, China, Brazil, India and South Africa
Headquarters: Munich, Germany
Key production sites: Germany, USA, South Africa and UK
Headquarters: Stuttgart, Germany
Key production sites: Germany, USA, China, South Africa, Hungary and Mexico
Audi
Headquarters: Ingolstadt, Germany
Key production sites: Germany, Mexico, Hungary, China and Belgium
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)
Headquarters: Turin, Italy
Key production sites: Italy, USA, Mexico, Brazil and Serbia
Asian Brands (Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, etc.)
This is where Asian cars are made.
Headquarters: Toyota City, Japan
Key production sites: Japan, USA, Canada, Mexico, China and UK
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Key production sites: Japan, USA, Canada, Mexico, China, India and UK
Hyundai
Headquarters: Seoul, South Korea
Key production sites: South Korea, USA, Mexico, China, India and Czech Republic
Headquarters: Yokohama, Japan
Key production sites: Japan, USA, Mexico, China, India, UK and Spain
Headquarters: Seoul, South Korea
Key production sites: South Korea, USA, Mexico, China, Slovakia and India
The Globalization of Car Manufacturing
Why Some "American" Cars Are Made Overseas
It is almost guaranteed that every US-made car is at least partly imported. Nearly all US cars contain a significant percentage of foreign parts. Car manufacturers have a global presence, as such, they use global resources to make their vehicles.
There are also a number of other reasons why cars are made abroad:
- Labor costs: It can be cheaper to manufacture cars overseas to reduce production costs.
- Trade agreements and tariffs: Some countries have lower tariffs or trade agreements to encourage manufacturing. They may also have tax incentives and subsidies. Conversely, high tariffs may mean it is cheaper to produce a car abroad.
- Regulatory concerns: Sometimes it may be easier to manufacture cars abroad because of differing environmental standards and safety standards in a particular country.
- Component sourcing: Now that supply chains are global, it is often easier to assemble cars overseas to reduce costs.
- Demand: If a US car has high demand in Europe or Asia, it may reduce shipping costs to produce it there as opposed to in the US.
- Risk diversification: Manufacturers will have plants in different countries in case of major disruptions or natural disasters that may halt production altogether.
Foreign Brands with U.S. Factories
Most foreign car brands have US factories for strategic reasons. In addition to providing them access to the large US market, there are many other benefits:
Tariffs and duties: By having a US factory, international brands avoid expensive import tariffs and import duties.
- Supplies: The US has a well-established car part and component industry, which is highly attractive to foreign manufacturers.
- Technology: The US has highly advanced technology which ultimately reduces labor costs. Many manufacturers also set up research and development (R&D) centers in the US to not just advance technology, but also to create cars suited to the American market.
- Building brand loyalty: By creating job opportunities and community engagement in the US, foreign brands can build a local presence and consumer base.
- Compliance: Building cars in the US makes it easier for foreign brands to comply with US regulations and standards.
How to Verify Authentic Manufacturing Locations
In addition to checking a car’s VIN and Monroney label, you can also verify manufacturing locations by:
- Manufacturer websites: These often list the location of their production sites.
- Certificate of Origin: This should indicate where a car was assembled.
- Government databases: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has resources where you can check manufacturing information. You can also check with the US Customs & Border Protection as they should track the origin of cars entering the US.
- Online resources: Popular car sites like J.D. Power, Consumer Reports, or Kelley Blue Book often provide useful information about where particular cars were made.
Knowing where your car was built will help you understand under what regulations and standards it was made. If you’re curious about your car’s manufacturing history, your car’s VIN is the best place to start to decipher its history.