US motor vehicle assembly ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 10.23 million units in February 2026, up from 9.82 million in January, as automakers poured more than $40 billion combined into American plants to blunt the impact of 2025’s auto tariffs. Direct employment in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing stood at roughly 995,800 workers in early 2025, though the sector shed about 29,000 jobs over the course of that year.
Auto Manufacturing in the US 2026
Auto manufacturing in the United States is running through one of its most disruptive stretches since the 2008 financial crisis, not because of falling demand but because of a sweeping tariff regime that has forced nearly every major automaker to rethink where it builds cars. Since the 2025 auto tariffs took effect, General Motors, Stellantis, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, and Ford have all announced multi-billion-dollar US investment packages, shifting assembly of specific models out of Mexico and Canada and into Michigan, Georgia, Texas, Indiana, and Kansas. The result is a industry pulled in two directions at once: rising domestic-content share on one hand, and a leaner, smaller workforce on the other.
This report walks through the current state of auto manufacturing in 2026: how many vehicles US plants are actually producing, how much automakers have committed to reshoring, what has happened to auto manufacturing employment, and which states and companies are capturing the new investment. Every figure below is sourced to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Reserve, or named company and trade-press reporting, not to an independent estimate.
The scale of this shift is genuinely unusual for an industry that typically moves on multi-year product cycles rather than reacting to a single year of trade policy. Automakers have historically resisted relocating assembly lines because of the sunk cost involved in retooling a plant, training a new workforce, and requalifying suppliers, yet 2025 and 2026 have seen more announced US production moves than the prior five years combined, a pace trade analysts attribute directly to the tariff structure rather than to any underlying change in consumer demand.
Interesting Facts About Auto Manufacturing in the US in 2026
US MOTOR VEHICLE ASSEMBLIES, SAAR (millions of units)
Jan 2026 ███████████████████ 9.82M
Feb 2026 ████████████████████ 10.23M
All-time high (Nov 1978) ███████████████████████████ 13.89M
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| US motor vehicle assemblies, February 2026 | 10.23 million units (SAAR) |
| Capacity utilization, February 2026 | 76.30% |
| All-time high production | 13.89 million units, November 1978 |
| Record low production | 0.09 million units, April 2020 |
| US vehicles produced, 2023 | 10.6 million, 2nd globally behind China |
| Decline from 2004 peak | 39% |
| Direct auto/parts manufacturing employment | ~995,800 workers (early 2025) |
| Combined 2025-2026 reshoring investment announced | More than $40 billion |
Source: Federal Reserve/BEA (Trading Economics); Bureau of Labor Statistics; OICA; company announcements, 2025-2026.
US motor vehicle assemblies ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 10.23 million units in February 2026, up from 9.82 million in January, with capacity utilization at 76.30%, a level that leaves meaningful room for expansion without new plant construction. That current pace sits well below the industry’s November 1978 peak of 13.89 million units, and even further below the 2004 production high that the industry has never fully recovered to, a gap of 39% according to compiled OICA-based figures.
The $40 billion-plus in combined reshoring commitments announced since early 2025 represents one of the largest coordinated waves of US auto-manufacturing investment in decades, driven almost entirely by the 2025 tariff regime rather than by underlying demand growth. That investment wave has not yet translated into net job growth: direct employment in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing actually fell over the same period, underscoring that reshoring investment and reshoring employment are not the same thing.
US Vehicle Production Numbers by Year 2026
US MOTOR VEHICLE PRODUCTION, SELECTED YEARS (millions)
2016 ████████████████████████ 12.2M
2019 ██████████████████████ 10.9M
2020 ██████████████████ 8.8M
2021 ██████████████████ 9.2M
2023 █████████████████████ 10.6M
| Year | Vehicles Produced |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 12.2 million |
| 2017 | 11.2 million |
| 2018 | 11.3 million |
| 2019 | 10.9 million |
| 2020 | 8.8 million |
| 2021 | 9.2 million |
| 2023 | 10.6 million |
Source: OICA; Zippia compilation of BEA/BLS production data.
US vehicle production peaked among this recent stretch at 12.2 million units in 2016, before a steady decline through the pandemic low of 8.8 million in 2020, the weakest output since the 1980s. Production recovered modestly to 9.2 million in 2021 despite the global semiconductor shortage, and by 2023 had climbed back to 10.6 million, still 27.7% below the 2016 level and 39% below the 2004 all-time peak.
That gap reflects a structural shift rather than a temporary downturn: global vehicle production now exceeds 94 million units annually, with the US share continuing to shrink relative to Asia even as total American output has partially recovered from its pandemic trough. The industry’s $1.2 trillion annual contribution to the US economy, equal to 4.8% of GDP, has held roughly steady even as unit production has declined, reflecting rising average vehicle prices and a shift toward higher-margin trucks and SUVs.
This divergence between dollar value and unit count matters for how the industry’s health gets reported. A headline focused only on units produced would suggest an industry still well short of its historic scale; a headline focused on GDP contribution or revenue would suggest an industry near full strength. Both are true simultaneously, and the gap between them is largely explained by the shift toward larger, more expensive vehicles: light trucks and SUVs now make up a substantially larger share of US output than they did at the 2004 production peak, even though total unit volume remains lower.
Auto Tariffs and the 2025-2026 Reshoring Wave
2025-2026 AUTOMAKER US REINVESTMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS ($ billions)
Hyundai █████████████████████ $21B
Stellantis █████████████ $13B (incl. R&D/supplier costs)
GM ████ $4B
Toyota ████ $3.6B
| Company | Announced Investment | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Hyundai | $21 billion, 2025-2028 | Target: 1.2 million units/year US production; 100,000+ jobs by 2028 |
| Stellantis | $13 billion (broad program) | Includes R&D, supplier costs; original $5B pledge added 1,500 jobs |
| General Motors | $4 billion | Michigan, Kansas, Tennessee plants; target 2 million more vehicles/year |
| Toyota | $3.6 billion | San Antonio, TX; Tacoma production moved from Mexico; 2,000 jobs |
| Honda | Not disclosed | Next-gen Civic assembly moved from Mexico to Indiana, ~210,000 units/year |
Source: WardsAuto; CNN; Schneider Downs; Tampa Free Press; company statements, 2025-2026.
The 2025 tariff regime triggered the largest wave of announced US auto investment in years, led by Hyundai’s $21 billion package aimed at lifting annual US production to 1.2 million units and creating more than 100,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2028. General Motors committed $4 billion across plants in Michigan, Kansas, and Tennessee in June 2025, on top of an $888 million V8-engine investment in Buffalo, New York and a $579 million commitment to its Flint Engine Operations, part of a broader capital-spending plan the company says will run $10 billion to $12 billion annually through 2027.
Not all of these announcements move at the same speed. Trade-press analysis has cautioned that an announced investment figure does not automatically mean a factory has already started building the affected vehicle; production timelines for several of these projects stretch into 2027 and 2028, and Hyundai’s own August 2026 update, adding 500,000 units of planned North American capacity by 2030, illustrates how these packages keep expanding well after their initial announcement.
Toyota’s $3.6 billion commitment to its San Antonio plant will double its footprint and add 2,000 jobs as Tacoma pickup production shifts from Mexico, while Honda confirmed it will build its next-generation Civic in Indiana rather than Mexico, securing roughly 210,000 units of annual domestic output. Ford confirmed plans to reshore Lincoln production and phase out vehicle imports from China, with CEO Jim Farley saying the company acted “as soon as the policy of the Administration was set.” Not every dollar announced represents new factory construction, however; Stellantis’s $13 billion figure explicitly bundles research and development and supplier costs alongside manufacturing investment, a distinction worth keeping in mind when comparing headline numbers across companies.
The Cost of Tariffs on Automakers in 2026
ESTIMATED 2025 TARIFF COST BY AUTOMAKER ($ billions)
GM █████ $4-5B (30% to be mitigated)
Ford ███ $2.5B ($1B offset planned)
| Company | Estimated 2025 Tariff Cost | Mitigation Plan |
|---|---|---|
| General Motors | $4 billion to $5 billion | Aims to mitigate 30% through manufacturing adjustments |
| Ford | $2.5 billion | Aims to offset $1 billion of that cost |
| GM Q2 2025 profit impact | $1.1 billion | Direct hit to quarterly profit |
| Import Adjustment Offset (Year 1) | 3.75% of MSRP | Credit for US-assembled vehicles, through April 2026 |
| Import Adjustment Offset (Year 2) | 2.5% of MSRP | Falling rate for the following year |
| Domestic-content share of new vehicles sold | 54.4% | Up as automakers shift production stateside |
Source: Digital Dealer Tariff Tracker; Automotive Manufacturing Solutions; company earnings statements, 2025.
General Motors projected tariffs would cost the company $4 billion to $5 billion in 2025 alone, with plans to mitigate roughly 30% of that impact through the manufacturing shifts described above; the company’s Q2 2025 earnings already showed a $1.1 billion direct profit hit from tariffs. Ford estimated a smaller but still significant $2.5 billion cost for 2025, aiming to offset $1 billion of it, and a company spokesperson noted Ford had “not passed on the full cost of tariffs to our customers,” at least as of mid-2025.
The government’s own Import Adjustment Offset program softened the blow for automakers assembling in the US, providing a credit worth 3.75% of MSRP on domestically built vehicles through April 2026, stepping down to 2.5% the following year, a sliding incentive explicitly designed to reward the reshoring decisions described above. Partly as a result of these combined pressures and incentives, domestic content’s share of new vehicles sold in the US climbed to 54.4%, with automakers like Toyota and Stellantis among those investing billions specifically to capture that shift.
Auto Manufacturing Jobs and Employment Trends in 2026
US AUTO/PARTS MANUFACTURING EMPLOYMENT CHANGES, 2025-2026
2025 full-year change ███ -29,000 jobs
Jan 2026 (transport equip.) █ +4,800 jobs
Mar 2026 (transport equip.) █ +6,500 jobs
Apr 2026 (transport equip.) -3,600 jobs
| Employment Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Direct motor vehicle/parts employment (early 2025) | ~995,800 workers |
| Of which, auto parts manufacturing specifically | ~587,500 workers |
| 2025 full-year change, motor vehicles/parts | -29,000 workers |
| Total jobs supported (direct + indirect) | 10.1 million, about 4.9% of US employment |
| Average weekly hours, auto manufacturing (2026) | ~42.8 hours |
| Transportation equipment sector, January 2026 | +4,800 jobs |
| Transportation equipment sector, March 2026 | +6,500 jobs |
| Transportation equipment sector, April 2026 | -3,600 jobs |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics; ManufacturingDive BLS coverage; TalentTraction workforce analysis, 2025-2026.
Direct employment in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing stood at roughly 995,800 workers in early 2025, with 587,500 of those specifically in auto parts production, but the sector shed about 29,000 jobs over the course of the year even as production volumes held broadly steady, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That combination, falling headcount alongside stable output, points to rising productivity and automation absorbing more of the workload per worker, leaving remaining employees averaging 42.8 hours a week, near the top of the manufacturing sector’s range.
Month-to-month volatility has been the defining feature of 2026’s job numbers: the transportation equipment sector, which includes motor vehicles, bodies, trailers, and parts, added 4,800 jobs in January and 6,500 in March, only to lose 3,600 in April, a 155% swing described by ISM’s manufacturing survey chair as a sharp reversal. Layered on top of direct manufacturing jobs, the industry’s total footprint, including dealers, suppliers, and related services, supports an estimated 10.1 million jobs nationwide, or about 4.9% of total US employment, making auto manufacturing one of the more closely watched bellwethers for the broader manufacturing sector’s health. For a fuller look at how vehicle sales themselves are trending alongside this production and employment picture, the US automobile sales statistics tracked separately break down demand by segment and region.
State-level job openings data adds further texture to this picture: manufacturing job openings nationwide rose nearly 19% to 462,000 in March 2026 compared with the same month a year earlier, even as the sector recorded 172,000 quits and 89,000 layoffs and discharges over the same period. That combination, rising openings alongside continued churn, suggests employers are struggling to fill newly reshored positions with workers who have the right skills, a gap several workforce analyses have flagged as the industry’s most pressing near-term constraint on turning investment dollars into actual production capacity.
Electric Vehicle Manufacturing in the US 2026
US EV SALES SHARE, 2025 QUARTERS
Q1 2025 ███████████████ 7.5%
Q2 2025 ███████████████ 7.4%
Jul 2025 ██████████████████ 9.0%+
| EV Manufacturing Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| US EV sales, Q1 2025 | ~300,000 units |
| US EV sales, Q2 2025 | 310,839 units |
| EV market share, Q1/Q2 2025 | 7.5% / 7.4% |
| Tesla Gigafactory Texas capacity | ~500,000 vehicles/year |
| Tesla Gigafactory Texas employment | ~20,000 workers |
| Tesla total US employment | 50,000+ workers |
| Hyundai Metaplant America (Georgia) | Produces Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9 |
Source: theworlddata.com automobile sales data; Tesla facility statistics, 2025-2026.
Electric vehicle manufacturing has become one of the most geographically concentrated parts of the reshoring story, anchored by Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas in Austin, which produces roughly 500,000 vehicles annually and employs about 20,000 people, part of a combined US Tesla workforce exceeding 50,000. EV sales themselves grew 11.4% year-over-year in Q1 2025 to nearly 300,000 units, holding a 7.5% market share before dipping slightly to 7.4% in Q2, with California alone accounting for 40% of US EV sales.
By July 2025, EV share had climbed back above 9% of new vehicle sales nationally, described in industry reporting as a “pull-ahead” effect tied to policy uncertainty around federal EV incentives rather than a clean, sustained acceleration in underlying demand. That volatility makes EV manufacturing a harder segment to forecast than conventional gasoline vehicle production, even as the physical plants built to make them, like Gigafactory Texas and Hyundai’s Georgia facility, represent some of the largest single manufacturing investments made anywhere in the US auto sector over the past five years.
Hyundai’s Metaplant America in Ellabell, Georgia, has emerged as a second major EV manufacturing hub, producing both the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9 electric SUVs, and the company’s August 2026 announcement of 500,000 additional units of North American manufacturing capacity by 2030 signals EV assembly will keep expanding even as overall EV sales growth has moderated compared to its earlier pandemic-era pace. For the full detail behind Tesla’s own US production and employment figures, the Tesla US statistics tracked separately break down its facility-by-facility manufacturing footprint.
Auto Manufacturing Supply Chain and Materials in 2026
STEEL AND SUPPLY CHAIN CONTEXT FOR US AUTO MANUFACTURING
US steel industry employment ██████████████ 137,000 workers
Electric arc furnace share ██████████████ 72% of steel production
| Supply Chain Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| US steel industry direct employment | 137,000 workers |
| Electric arc furnace share of steel production | 72% |
| US steel production capacity | 107 million tons annually |
| German-owned US automotive plants (parts+assembly) | 120,000+ jobs |
Source: theworlddata.com US steel production statistics; American Iron and Steel Institute.
Auto manufacturing’s reshoring wave depends heavily on the domestic supply chain that feeds it, and steel is the clearest example: US steel producers directly employ 137,000 workers across iron/steel mills and product manufacturing, with 72% of production now coming from more flexible electric arc furnaces rather than traditional blast furnaces. That capacity, combined with strengthened Buy America provisions, gives automakers reshoring assembly a more secure domestic steel supply than existed during prior reshoring waves. For the full production and capacity-utilization data behind this supply base, the US steel production statistics tracked separately provide the underlying weekly and annual figures.
Foreign-owned manufacturers add another layer to the domestic supply picture: German automakers alone support more than 120,000 US automotive-sector jobs across assembly and parts plants concentrated in Southern and Midwestern states, a reminder that “domestic” auto manufacturing in 2026 spans a mix of American, Asian, and European-owned facilities rather than a single national industry.
That international mix is itself part of why the tariff-driven reshoring wave has moved as quickly as it has. Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda were already operating substantial US assembly and supplier networks before 2025, which meant expanding existing plants rather than building entirely new ones from scratch, a much faster path to added capacity than a greenfield project would allow. That existing footprint is also why several of the largest announced investment figures, including Hyundai’s and Stellantis’s, phase in gradually over several years rather than arriving as a single upfront capital outlay.
Auto Manufacturing Statistics FAQs
How many vehicles is the US producing in 2026?
US motor vehicle assemblies ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 10.23 million units in February 2026, with capacity utilization at 76.30%.
How much have automakers invested in US reshoring since 2025?
More than $40 billion combined, led by Hyundai’s $21 billion, Stellantis’s $13 billion, GM’s $4 billion, and Toyota’s $3.6 billion.
How many jobs does auto manufacturing support in the US?
Roughly 995,800 workers are directly employed in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing, while the industry supports an estimated 10.1 million jobs total, direct and indirect.
Did auto manufacturing jobs grow or shrink in 2025?
Employment in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing fell by about 29,000 workers over the course of 2025, even as production volumes held broadly steady.
How much are tariffs costing automakers?
GM estimated $4 billion to $5 billion in 2025 tariff costs; Ford estimated $2.5 billion, aiming to offset $1 billion of it.
What is the Import Adjustment Offset?
A federal credit worth 3.75% of MSRP on US-assembled vehicles through April 2026, falling to 2.5% the following year, designed to reward domestic assembly.
Which companies are building new US auto plants in 2026?
Hyundai, GM, Toyota, Honda, Stellantis, and Ford have all announced US production shifts or new investment since early 2025.
What share of vehicles sold in the US are now domestically produced?
54.4% of new vehicles sold in the US have domestic content, up as automakers shift assembly stateside.
How big is the US electric vehicle manufacturing footprint?
Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas alone produces about 500,000 vehicles a year and employs 20,000 people; Hyundai’s Georgia Metaplant produces the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9.
How does 2026 production compare to the industry’s historic peak?
US vehicle production remains about 39% below its 2004 peak and well below the all-time high of 13.89 million units set in November 1978.
Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.