What does “buying American” mean to you? If you interpret the meaning as buying from a company that’s American-owned, you’re left with only two of the original Detroit Three already and just a handful of others. If we posed the question: what’s more American, the Toyota Camry or the Chevrolet Equinox? You might end up choosing the wrong answer. How is this so?If we take its meaning beyond face value, the term could represent buying vehicles made in America, which one brand has been doing for decades without anyone noticing. Toyota operates 11 manufacturing sites in the US, helping to produce tens of millions of cars across five vehicle assembly plants. Popular models like the Camry, Corolla, RAV4, Tundra and Sequoia are built here in America, so does that remove owners from the sanction of not buying American?The competition for the most cars built in America reveals what foreign companies are creeping up on the established American brands. For this example, we look into Toyota, which currently produces more models in the US than Chevrolet. Toyota's Manufacturing Sites ToyotaThe brand’s American-assembled vehicle started with its joint-venture with General Motors in the mid-1980s. GM offered up its Fremont Assembly plant in California for the two automakers to establish a new production line for a couple of models to be built. NUMMI, as it would be known, stood for New United Motor Manufacturing and rolled out its first Chevy Nova in 1984 and first Toyota Corolla in 1986. The plant closed in 2010 and was sold to Tesla, which still operates the plant today.Forty years later, Toyota is making more models in the US than Chevrolet. The Tundra and Sequoia, along with the Highlander, Grand Highlander, Sienna, Camry and Corolla Cross are all exclusively built in America for the American market. Toyota does build non-hybrid Corolla sedans in the US, with some being shipped from Japan where hybrid and hatchback models are produced. Models and Plant Locations Tundra & Sequoia: San Antonio, Texas Highlander (2010-2026), Grand Highlander, Sienna: Princeton, Indiana Camry, RAV4 hybrid (2020-2025), Highlander EV (2027+): Georgetown, Kentucky Corolla: Blue Springs, Mississippi Corolla Cross: Madison, Alabama Altogether, the brand has produced 34 million cars in the United States since 1986 across both Toyota and Lexus nameplates. The Lexus ES sedan and TX SUV are assembled alongside the Camry and Grand Highlander in their respective plants in Kentucky and Indiana.Built elsewhere on the continent are the Tacoma, assembled in Baja California, Mexico, and the RAV4, all of which are now produced in Ontario, Canada when not shipped from Japan. The rest of Toyota's vehicles hail from its home country, save for the Austrian-built Supra. Battery components are made for hybrid and electric vehicles in Liberty, North Carolina, along with engine plants in Huntsville, Alabama and Buffalo, West Virginia. Engine components are forged in Jackson, Tennessee and Troy, Missouri, along with a parts' manufacturer in Long Beach, California. Popular "American" Cars Built Abroad 2025 - 2026 Chevrolet Equinox front, three-quarterJust because something wears an American automaker's badge, it doesn't make it an all-American car. Proving the point are these following models, which are far less home-grown than you might first imagine. Chevy Equinox: Canada & Mexico After being produced at GM’s CAMI Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada, the Equinox was moved to San Lois Potosi, Mexico, where it’s currently produced alongside its EV counterpart, Blazer, and Blazer EV. Production for the Equinox is said to be moving to Kansas City, Missouri, where the Bolt EV is assembled. Joining the two in 2028 will be the Buick Envision which is currently assembled in China. Chevy Trax, Trailblazer, and Buick Envista: South Korea Not only is the Trax assembled in South Korea and shipped to the US, the Trailblazer and Buick Envista and Encore each have final assembly points there, too. The first generation Trax was produced in Mexico, but the current generation Trax was sourced entirely from GM’s Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, where it shares the line with Envista. The Trailblazer and Buick Encore hail from GM’s Bupyeong complex in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, South Korea. Ford Maverick and Bronco Sport: Mexico Making headway as one of Ford’s most important vehicles on sale, the Maverick, built alongside the Bronco Sport, has been produced in Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly facility in Sonora, Mexico since September 2021. Part of the Maverick’s charm was its cheap entry point, which was possible because of where it was produced, but that could change if Ford moves production of the Maverick state side as it builds two new facilities in Ohio and Tennessee. Other American-Made Foreign Vehicles CarBuzz/Valnet/Nicole WakelinOther large foreign brands involved in manufacturing cars in the US include Honda, Nissan, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, and others. Historic American brands like Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram, are now under the guise of European-based conglomerate, Stellantis, but still produce popular models in the US like the Jeep Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, Chrysler Pacifica and all Ram Trucks.Honda builds all but two models in the US for the North American Market in its Marysville and East Liberty, Ohio plants, as well as in Lincoln, Alabama and Greensburg, Indiana. It makes the Civic, Accord, CR-V, Passport, Pilot, Odyssey, and Ridgeline in America, with the HR-V and Prelude both assembled in Japan. All Acura models are also built in the US at both Ohio plants. Nissan builds cars in the US between two different assembly plants. The Rogue, Pathfinder, Murano and Infiniti QX60 are assembled in Smyrna, Tennessee, with the Altima and Frontier in Canton, Mississippi.South Carolina has become a hub for multiple foreign brands, including BMW and Volvo. BMW opened its Spartanburg plant in 1994 and is the company’s largest plant in the world. Located in Greer, the facility produces the X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, and XM SUVs. Volvo’s site in Ridgeville produces the electric EX90, previously assembling the S60 when it opened back in 2018.The most storied foreign automaker in the US, hands-down, is Volkswagen. Starting in Pennsylvania in the 1970s, VW expanded production in the US immensely in 2011 when it opened its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant which makes the Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport, and ID.4 electric SUV. Overseeing the revival of Scout Motors, its newest plant is almost complete in, you guessed it, South Carolina. Dude, Where's My Car (Made)? 2024 Nissan GT-R T-spec Takumi Edition gold VIN plateIt’s very easy to find out where any vehicle was made using the sticker found on the door jamb of all vehicles. Listed is the name of the manufacturer, month and year of production, and final assembly point. If the assembly point is missing from this sticker, there’s another, very nerdy, way to find out by decoding a vehicle’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).A unique 17-digit code was standardized in 1981 across the industry, each telling the complete story about what engine and other options came equipped on the vehicle along with its serial number. The first digit denotes what country the vehicle was made in. American-made cars use numbers 1,4,5, and, on occasion, the number 7. Canadian-assembled cars are marked with a “2” and Mexico is marked “3.”The last six digits are the vehicle’s serial number, but you can pinpoint which factory the vehicle was assembled in with the 11th digit (one place before the last six). Normally, this information is useless to us, but if you’re into family ancestry and run out of branches, this is how you determine your car’s place of birth. Buying American Means Built in America... Nissan… At least when it comes to tariffs. Many automakers responded to tariffs set by President Donald Trump’s administration in 2025 by looking into moving production of popular models to America like we saw with the Ford Maverick. The tariffs provided a small boost to foreign automakers building in the US because it showed which cars are actually built in America, revealing to the masses which American brands were actually importing their cars. We once took a look at the most American-made cars which, if anything on this list shocked you, might give you a heart attack.