What kind of cars does the US build? Where?

BTW, approx half of Nissan's and Toyota's cars purchased in the US are assembled in the states. Likewise a large percentage of the parts used in Ford, GM and Chrysler cars come from overseas.

How many cars are built in the US?

The American automotive industry builds millions of cars each year and accounted for 2.8% of all nonfarm jobs in the US in 2024.

Updated May 2, 2025

by the USAFacts team

Automakers produced 12.86 million vehicles in the US in 2022, according to the Department of Energy, which tracks car manufacturing numbers by year and type of car. That number reflects a pandemic-related dip in production trends. From 2015 - 2019, car manufacturers produced 16–17 million vehicles per year.

What types of vehicles are built in the US?

Of the vehicles produced in 2022, SUVs made up the biggest portion at 6.97 million (54% of the total for that year). Cars accounted for 3.41 million (27%). Pickup trucks were at 2.11 million (16%), followed by vans at around 374,000 (3%).

54% percent of vehicles produced in 2022 were SUVs.

Light-duty vehicles produced in the US, 1975–2022

How many jobs does the auto industry create?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the auto industry employed an average of 4,486,300 people in 2024. Overall, the auto industry accounted for 2.8% of all nonfarm jobs in the US in 2024.

Auto industry job categories

Auto industry employment numbers include vehicle and parts manufacturing, wholesale trade (when retailers buy and sell cars at auctions to manage inventory), retail trade (car dealerships and accessory stores), and repair and maintenance services.

From February 2024 to February 2025, employment in all categories grew, except for jobs specifically in manufacturing motor vehicle parts and other motor vehicle retail trade dealers.

Auto industry employment saw gains in auto dealership and maintenance activities from February 2024 to February 2025

12-month change (net and percent) in employment, not seasonally adjusted, February 2024–February 2025

Which states have the most automotive manufacturing jobs?

Michigan employs the highest number of people in the auto industry annually in terms of both vehicle manufacturing (48,600 people) and parts manufacturing (118,300).

Michigan is followed by California (28,700 people) and Kentucky (24,000) in vehicle manufacturing employment numbers. For parts manufacturing, Ohio (65,700 people) and Indiana (54,200) employ the second- and third-highest numbers of people in the industry.

Michigan has the most automotive manufacturing jobs.

Annual average employment in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing by selected state, 2024

Michigan employs 56% more people than the next closest state, Indiana.

Total annual average auto industry employment by selected state, 2024

The Department of Energy tracks the number and type of cars produced in the US per year, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (a division of the Department of Labor) tracks employment by industry and state. The Environmental Protection Agency also has data tools that explore vehicle trends and preliminary data for 2024.

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