How Much Of A Chevy Silverado Is Made In America?

Americans love their obnoxiously sized, gas-guzzling pickup trucks, as can be quantified by simply looking at sales numbers. In fact, four of the top 10 selling vehicles in the U.S. in 2023 were pickup trucks, with the segment sweeping the top three spots. The Ford F-150 has been the leader of this segment for several decades now, with the Chevrolet Silverado and the Ram pickup truck coming in at second and third places, respectively.

Manufactured by General Motors, the Chevrolet Silverado epitomizes the classic American pickup truck. It's big, powerful, rugged, and offers performance while guzzling fuel; and it also happens to be one of the highest-selling pickup trucks in the U.S. Given the sheer demand for the Chevrolet Silverado's in the U.S., the belief among Americans is that this truck is made in America, for America. That statement is partly true, given that the final assembly of all Chevrolet Silverado's sold in the U.S. takes place at GM's facilities scattered across Flint, Michigan; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Springfield, Ohio.

However, not all of the parts that go into making the Silverado originate in the U.S. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), depending on what model year Chevy Silverado you're looking at, the truck only has anywhere between 30-44% of its parts made in America.

In 1992, the U.S. Government passed the AALA Act (American Automobile Labeling Act), which mandates all passenger car companies to disclose vital information about the origin of a car, as well as its equipment. Manufacturers have to not only display the final assembly point of the vehicle, but also share information surrounding the origins of crucial parts like the engine and transmission. 

For the 2024 model year Silverado, only around 37% of its parts come from either the U.S. or Canada, while 36% came from Mexico, and the other 27% of parts undisclosed. The engines for the 2024 model come from three countries: Mexico, Canada, and the U.S., while the transmission units have their origins either in the U.S. or Mexico.

Things look slightly different for the 2023 Chevy Silverado. This variant of the truck only had 33% of its parts having either U.S. or Canadian origins. A sizable 38% of the components came from Mexico, while the other 29% was not disclosed. As with the 2024 model, the engines from this vehicle came from all three countries: the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, while the transmission came from the U.S. and Mexico.

Looking at similar data from 2022, we find that the 2022 model year cars had a greater (42%) proportion of components from the U.S. and Canada. However, there was a similar percentage increase in parts that had Mexican origins. It is pertinent to note that the final assembly — in each of these instances — took place at a plant in the U.S., which, for some people, is good enough for a vehicle to get the "Made in USA" tag.