Hyundai to be most American automaker by next year?

Which automaker do you think is the most “American”? Some might say Chevrolet, since they’re the self-proclaimed Heartbeat of America. Others might say Ford since the Mustang is as iconic an American image as baseball and apple pie. What if we told you the answer might just be Hyundai? As of next year, 80 percent of the vehicles that Hyundai sells in the United States will be made here as well.

That number puts Hyundai above all other automakers in the United States. Ford and Chrysler don’t have exact figures, but estimates for the two manufacturers puts them both below 80 percent as those two automakers assemble many of their popular vehicles in Canada and Mexico. General Motors says between 60 and 70 percent of vehicles sold in the United States are built here.

The numbers may be quite interesting, but of course they don’t tell the whole story. The Big Three domestic automakers produce a much greater volume of vehicles in the United States when compared to Hyundai. For example, if GM built 66 percent of the vehicles it sold here in the states in 2009, it would triple Hyundai’s projected U.S. output for next year.