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Here Are All the Countries Where Your Car Is Actually Made

Bob Lacivita

By Bob Lacivita

Family Handyman's Editorial Process

Published on Apr. 30, 2025

Long gone are the days of cars being built in one country, let alone one city. Here's what you need to know.

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While the U.S. is home to some of the best automotive design studios in the world, a car’s manufacturing journey starts with parts and components manufactured around the world. These components are then shipped to different countries and constructed into assemblies, such as engines, transmissions, instrument clusters or electric control modules, then to plants for final assembly. Once built, new cars and trucks are then shipped all over the world for distribution and sale before they end up in your driveway.

A car’s manufacturing journey is complex, but the well-orchestrated globalization of car manufacturing has enabled carmakers to lower costs and improve manufacturing efficiency. For 30 years, I’ve been writing for Family Handyman on how to diagnose and fix cars, as well as explaining how cars and their thousands of parts work. This was the first time I conducted research on economics of scale. Simply put, economics of scale affects and influences both micro and macroeconomics. This helps businesses enhance manufacturing operations, which results in lower costs through mass production and efficient use of resources. According to Leon Huang, CEO of RapidDirect, the results are higher quality finish products for customer-specific sales regions around the globe, including:

  • Asia-Pacific is the largest car market globally, accounting for over 40 percent of car sales.
  • Europe remains the second-largest global market, with Germany, France, and the United Kingdom the largest car purchasers.
  • North America is the third-largest market, overwhelmingly led in sales by the United States, followed by Canada and Mexico.
  • Latin America is a minor market, with Brazil and Argentina the leaders in car sales.
  • The Middle East and Africa are the smallest regions, with Turkey and South Africa having the largest percentage of sales.

Each region has its distinct characteristics. For example:

  • The North American region is partial to an automatic transmission, right-hand drive, plus rigorous safety and emission standards.
  • While the European region has both right and left-hand drive, it favors small compacts due to narrow streets and is focused on increasing electric vehicle sales.

“Vehicles would be less affordable if all the parts had to be made in one country,” says Sam Fiorani, a vice president at AutoForecast Solutions. “Harnessing the strength of each country [leads] to the betterment of the companies and to the consumer.”

Consequently, globalization is greatly affected by supply chain responsiveness. In other words, parts and components are delayed by natural disasters or political tensions that negatively impact manufacturing networks or stifle a nation’s growth in the worldwide marketplace.

Tariffs can significantly impact globalization and car prices. Tariffs on imported cars and car parts increase production costs, which then result in higher prices, up to $15,000 per vehicle, depending on the make and model (as reported by CNN), which are passed on to the consumer.

Using data recently released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, USA Today reported, “Roughly half of new vehicles sold in the U.S. are assembled within the country,” and “47 percent of the parts originated from the U.S. or Canada.” Additionally, Stephen J. Crewdson, managing director at J.D. Power, notes that “Tariffs [on imported replacement parts] have the potential to increase auto insurance premiums.”

Read along as two experts in the automotive industry explain how the most popular cars’ manufacturing journeys utilize the strength of individual countries to help keep car prices stable through standardization, manufacturing, and technological innovations.

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A portrait of a gray Ford F-150 pick-up truck traveling down a highway in moderate traffic
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Ford F-150 Pickup Truck

One of the bestselling and popular vehicles of all time, the F-150 is a rare breed that begins its journey close to home and doesn’t travel far. To ensure the F-150 remains a “built in the U.S.A. vehicle,” Ford has invested billions of dollars in modernizing and making sustainable its Dearborn, Michigan and Claycomo, Missouri truck assembly plants—the F-150’s final assembly plants.

  • The F-150 starts in either Lima or Brook Park, Ohio, where its engines are assembled.
  • Transmissions are assembled in Ford factories in Livonia, Michigan, and Sharonville, Ohio.
  • Many different brand tires come standard on the F-150, but virtually all the tires, even those by foreign tire manufacturers, are made in the U.S.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data, 32 percent of the parts content comes from the U.S. or Canada.

NOTE: I spent a summer at Ford Electronics as part of a business and industry-sponsored “Educator In The Workplace” program. There, I saw first-hand how a Mass Air Flow Sensor was built and tested piece by piece for quality control before assembly. Circuit boards from China, thermal plastic housings from the U.S., heating elements from Europe, and temperature sensors and wiring harnesses were built inside the same facility.

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Photo of a red Toyota Camry
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Toyota Camry

Toyota is truly a global manufacturer of several popular vehicles, which is why three models are included in this list. Each Toyota has its own travel story, with final assembly plants located in any number of countries, including the U.S., Canada, Japan, Mexico, and China. Let’s begin with one of their best-selling cars, the Toyota Camry.

  • For the North American region, Camry’s start and finish is being assembled in Georgetown, Kentucky, the largest Toyota production facility outside of Japan.
  • The engine and drivetrain are made in the U.S.
  • Toyota lists that 55 percent of Camry’s parts are manufactured in the U.S. or Canada.
  • Japan is the other major country that supplies 30 percent of the Camry’s foreign parts content.
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A portrait of a green Toyota Tacoma 4x4 pick-up truck traveling down a highway in moderate traffic
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Toyota Tacoma 4X4

  • Fifty percent of the Tacoma’s parts come from Japan or Mexico.
  • Thirty-five percent of its parts, including the engine and transmission, come from the U.S. or Canada. (Building the majority of its drivetrains in the U.S. lowers Toyota’s production costs by standardizing platforms for various Toyota makes and models.)
  • Thailand and India supply various electronic and metal components.
  • All of the parts and components end up in Baja California, Mexico, for final assembly for the North American region.
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Blue Toyota RAV4 On Dirt Road In Utah Wilderness
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Toyota RAV 4

  • Seventy percent of RAV 4 parts are sourced from the U.S. and Canada, and like the Camry, the drivetrain is of U.S. origin.
  • According to Huang, “copper used for wiring, electronics, and motors is produced in Chile, Peru, China, and the U.S.” Several manufacturers, including Toyota, use copper to maintain quality and costs when constructing their vehicles.
  • Ontario, Canada, is the final assembly point for RAV 4 for the North American region.
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A new white 2024 Chevy Silverado pick-up truck cruising near a park
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Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra

  • General Motors stalwarts, both of these trucks, which are virtually twins, have 37 percent of their parts sourced from the U.S. and Canada.
  • Another 37 percent of their parts are sourced from Mexico.
  • Huang adds that rare earth elements extracted from China, the U.S. and Australia are used in electronic components,” including engine and ABS (anti-lock brake) sensors, speakers, and battery management systems.
  • The Silverado’s engine is sourced from Mexico, the transmission from the U.S., and the final assembly takes place in Roanoke, Indiana.
  • The Sierra’s engine and transmission are sourced from the U.S., but the final assembly takes place in Silao, Guanajuato, Mexico, and could be regarded as an import.

General Motors uses several different factories to build these two trucks. This helps manage production and logistics costs, as well as enriching brand identity within different markets.

I’ve had the opportunity to visit two General Motors assembly plants, a vehicle assembly plant and an electronics assembly plant. Even with all my years in the industry, it was amazing to see rolls of sheet metal being formed, welded, painted, and then installed as fenders, doors, roofs, hoods and trunk lids. I was not surprised to see pallets filled with other parts shipped from not only General Motors/AC Delco, but from other countries and places around the world. At the electronics assembly plant, semiconductors attached on plastic rolls were “pressed” into circuit boards to build any number of electronic components. Most rolls were made in foreign countries.

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Black Nissan Rogue in the open air
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Nissan Rogue

  • Another global vehicle, parts from Japan and Mexico, including the engine and transmission, make up 65 percent of a Rogue’s parts.
  • Nissan sources 25 percent of its Rogue parts from the U.S. and Canada.
  • Parts and components from around the globe meet at Smyrna, Tennessee for the Rogue’s final assembly and distribution in the North America region.

“Car parts are sourced from manufacturers all over the globe,” says Mike Rocchi, retired former president of Faulkner Mazda. “Individual or unique parts from specialty manufacturers may be included with parts from other manufacturers to build a component. Globalization helps bring new vehicles and new technology to the market quicker while reducing overall operating costs for manufacturers.”

But Rocchi also adds that “it [globalization] also creates challenges, like controlling complex supply chains and safeguarding quality control across diverse manufacturing sites.” Remember, he says, “It took 18 months to resolve supply chain issues, especially computer chips, after the pandemic.”

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An orange Subaru Crosstrek sits parked on a sand dune with the desert stretching out behind.
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Subaru Crosstrek

  • The engine and transmission of the popular Crosstrek are sourced from Japan.
  • The U.S. and Canada supply 45 percent of its parts, while 35 percent of components are sourced from Japan.
  • Other parts, such as plastics used to build dashboards, door panels, or air vents are manufactured from crude oil refined in the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Russia and Canada.
  • Rubber from Thailand, Indonesia, or Vietnam are sourced to fabricate tires, belts, hoses, and seals in the U.S. and Canada.
  • Platinum and palladium from South Africa and Zimbabwe are used in catalytic converters to reduce exhaust emissions of internal combustion engines.
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Tesla Model Y driving on a highway
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Tesla Y

  • With 70 percent of the parts content for this popular electric vehicle coming from the U.S., including the drivetrain (gearbox and motor assembly), except for its battery, it is as close to an all-American car as there is.
  • Mexico supplies 20 percent of the Model Ys parts.
  • Other Tesla plants that support Model Y component manufacturing and production are located in China and Germany. The lithium and other minerals used to build Tesla’s high-voltage battery are sourced from Canada, China, Australia, Argentina, Chile, New Caledonia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • The Model Y high voltage battery and onboard charger, as well as vehicle final assembly, all take place in California.

Other Countries Where Cars May Travel

  • Taiwan and South Korea supply microchips and semiconductors to virtually every major automobile manufacturer.
  • The Philippines and Romania assemble and fabricate labor-intensive, complex wiring harnesses.
  • According to Huang, “Luxury and high-performance models are usually assembled in their home markets. For example Germany for BMW, Italy for Ferrari, to preserve craftsmanship and exclusivity” before exporting to other countries.

FAQ

What defines an import versus a domestic brand?

“Historically, the location of the automaker’s headquarters and the origin of the vehicle’s production” are what have defined an import or a domestic vehicle, explains Rocchi. “General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are all considered domestic brands.”

He adds, “Due to globalization, some ‘domestic’ brands may use more foreign parts than an ‘import. Or, as we saw with some Chevrolet models, the final assembly takes place in Mexico. On the other hand, many import manufacturers, such as Toyota and Subaru, have manufacturing plants in the U.S. but are still considered imports because their corporate headquarters are based in countries other than the U.S.”

Although some domestic brands depend on foreign-made parts, many imports are now produced in the U.S. For practical reasons, the line between domestic and imported cars is blurred based on customer perception factors, not which country their vehicle was assembled or where the parts came from.

Experts

  • Mike Rocchi has over 50 years of experience in every area of the automotive industry. He was former president of Faulkner Mazda (retired), Chairperson of the Mazda National Dealer Advisory Committee, and is now Director of Technical Training for the Faulkner Automotive Organization. (Phone and live interviews Mar 28, and Apr 1, 2025)
  • Leon Huang attended Hunan University and is the CEO of RapidDirect, located in Shenzhen, China. Under Huang’s guidance, RapidDirect has become an ISO-certified, high-precision manufacturer focusing on speed, quality, and cost efficiency and is a global provider of custom manufacturing solutions to the automotive manufacturing industry. (Electronic communication Mar 23, 2025)

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Author
Bob Lacivita
Since rebuilding his first engine at age 14, cars have been Bob Lacivita's passion, as well as his way of life. He went on to become an award-winning ASE and General Motors auto technician, vocational educator, career and technical center administrator, technical consultant and freelance writer; teaching legions of students and readers about DIY ca...
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