The 2026 vehicle models with the largest year-over-year gains in U.S. and Canadian content were electric vehicles, according to American Automobile Labeling Act reports, likely spurred by U.S. content requirements for subsidies passed under former President Joe Biden as well as new automotive tariffs, experts said.
The all-electric Cadillac Lyriq and Optiq as well as the Chevrolet Blazer EV and Equinox EV saw the largest increases in U.S. and Canadian content of 31 percentage points, according to a Detroit News analysis of American Automobile Labeling Act reports published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Other EVs like the Genesis GV70EV, Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra EV, GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Escalade EV also had significant increases.
“They got a significant amount of investment to source batteries in the United States, and batteries are (a) very expensive piece of the journey,” said Warren Browne, an auto supplier consultant and former GM executive who worked at the carmaker for 40 years. “It shows that incentives in this particular case did move the needle in terms of the overall U.S. content.”
Automakers, however, have been focused on developing domestic supply chains for EVs. Under the Inflation Reduction Act that Biden signed in 2022, to qualify for half of the $7,500 tax credit for plug-in vehicles in 2026, at least 70% of the value of critical minerals in the vehicle’s battery had to be extracted or processed in the United States or a free-trade agreement partner or be recycled in North America, up from 60% in 2025. The other half would have been secured when at least 70% of the value of the battery components were manufactured in North America, up from 60%.
A subsidy for manufacturers of EV batteries remains in place. The One Big Beautiful Bill added a domestic content floor requiring a 60% threshold of domestic content for battery components in 2026, which increases to 85% by 2030.
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