That percentage would likely put Hyundai at the top of the "Made in the USA" rankings among all automakers operating in the U.S., including Ford, Chrysler and General Motors.
Hyundai has been on a tear lately. The 2011 Sonata earned a top safety rating earlier this month, its vehicles have been getting rave reviews and its U.S. sales are booming.
Hyundai was one of the very few automakers to manage a sales increase in 2009, and last month they were up again by nearly half from the year before.
Considering its fast-moving success in the American market, CNNMoney asked Hyundai Motor America chief John Krafcik if he feared a "buy American" backlash.
Krafcik pointed out that Hyundai plans to move production of its popular Elantra from Korea to the automaker's Montgomery, Ala., plant later this year.
"I'm going to build my three best selling cars in the U.S.," Krafcik said. "Ford builds its best selling car in Mexico."
The Elantra is Hyundai's second most popular model. The Hyundai Sonata mid-sized sedan, Hyundai's biggest seller, and the Santa Fe SUV, which together make up half of Hyundai's U.S. sales, are already built here.
Ford Motor Co. builds the Fusion mid-sized sedan in Mexico. Ford was not able to say what percentage of the cars it sells in the U.S. are built here.
Popular Ford models, such as the Edge SUV and the Fiesta sub-compact, are built in Mexico and Canada. Even though the top sellers are built elsewhere, the bulk of Ford cars sold in the U.S. are built here. Still, they tally up to less than 80%.
Read More: http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/21/autos/hyundai_american_production/index.htm?section=money_autos
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