The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides reports as an aid to consumers considering the purchase of a new vehicle. The charts list information that NHTSA received from vehicle manufacturers about the U.S./Canadian content (by value) of the equipment (parts) used to assemble passenger motor vehicles.
By law, each new passenger motor vehicle must be labeled with the following six items of information:
The percentage U.S./Canadian equipment (parts) content;
The names of any countries other than the U.S. and Canada which individually contribute 15 percent or more of the equipment content, and the percentage content for each such country (a maximum of two countries);
The final assembly point by city and state (where appropriate), and country;
The country of origin of the engine;
The country of origin of the transmission; and
A statement which explains that parts content does not include final assembly (except the engine and transmission), distribution, or other non-parts costs.
The percentage U.S./Canada equipment content, as well as content percentages for other countries are calculated on a "carline" basis rather than for each individual vehicle and may be rounded to the nearest 5 percent. The term "carline" refers to a name of a group of vehicles which has a degree of commonality in construction, e.g., body and chassis. Light duty trucks are considered to be different carlines than passenger cars. A carline includes all motor vehicles of a given nameplate.
Vehicle manufacturers must calculate the equipment content percentages for their carlines prior to the beginning of the model year. They estimate the number of vehicles and subgroups of vehicles that will be built within each carline, e.g., the number of base level and high-line models. For each carline, the calculation of U.S./Canadian content percentage also includes:
The U.S./Canadian content (by value) of each item of motor vehicle equipment that will be used to assemble the vehicles within the carline;
The total value of each equipment item, i.e., the price the manufacturer will pay for it (this information is typically provided by the manufacturer's suppliers); and
The total number of each of the equipment items that will be used to assemble the vehicles within the carline during the model year.
When optional equipment is offered for vehicles within the carline, the vehicle manufacturer estimates the installation rates for that equipment. For example, if vehicles are offered with a manual and automatic transmission, the manufacturer will estimate how many vehicles will be built with each transmission.
The label must be placed in a prominent location on each vehicle where it can be read from the exterior of the vehicle with the doors closed. It may be part of the Monroney price information label, part of the fuel economy label, or a separate label.
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