Lately, when it comes to the automobile industry, brand identity is more of an existential question than a hard-known fact. Along with globalization and, particularly, consumers’ shift toward hybrid and electric vehicles, automakers’ parts, technology, and even the very assembly lines their cars are built on have undergone major changes, blurring the lines in terms of where a car is actually “from.” Take BMW for instance, which sources auto parts from suppliers in more than 70 countries, including Germany (its home base) and elsewhere in Europe, but has its production plants in Mexico, China, South Africa, and the U.
S. 💸💰 Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter 💰💸 Similarly, historically American brands, like Buick, now manufacture many of their vehicles outside the U.S.
, in China, South Korea, Germany, and Canada. Even Ford ( F ) , which built a reputation on its “American-made” cars and trucks, continues to operate domestically, in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, and Ohio, but now also has plants in Canada and Mexico. Even brands like Honda ( HMC ) , Subaru, and Toyota, which were known for decades under the subheading of “foreign automakers” now build many of their vehicles stateside.
It’s enough to make your head spin. What is an American car? To find out what exactly defines an American car brand, we turned to Consumer Reports (CR), one of the country’s foremost product testing authorities whose primary .