On the World’s Roads, More American Wheels

But a big part of the comeback has also come from an unlikely source: rising exports of vehicles made in the United States for sale in international markets.

Annual exports of American-made vehicles have increased nearly 80 percent from 2009 through 2012. And this year exports are up about 9 percent from last year through the month of October, according to the Commerce Department.

And it is not only the Detroit carmakers that are benefiting from the international appeal of American-made models. Factories owned by Japanese and European auto companies in the United States are also steadily expanding their export business, adding jobs and investment to keep pace with overseas demand.

“It’s becoming a more important part of our business every year,” said Robert S. Carter, senior vice president of Toyota’s United States division. “It is a very robust area of growth.”

Indeed, automakers are adding more new models to their roster of export-ready vehicles.

On Thursday, the Ford Motor Company unveiled the latest version of its iconic Mustang muscle car, and it announced that for the first time it would begin exporting it to global markets in 2015.

The introduction of the new Mustang was a global event, with simultaneous presentations in New York; Los Angeles; Barcelona, Spain; Sydney, Australia; and Shanghai — as well as in Ford’s hometown, Dearborn, Mich.

“We think this car has universal appeal,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s chief operating officer. “We’re really excited to ship it to Europe and China and the Asia-Pacific countries.”

Last year, American factories shipped 1.8 million cars, sport utility vehicles and light trucks for sale in international markets, including Canada and Mexico. That figure should reach two million this year.

While that is still a fraction of the estimated 15.5 million vehicles expected to be sold in the United States this year, the growth of exports underscores how competitive American-made models have become worldwide on manufacturing costs and overall quality.

Since emerging from the recession, automakers are benefiting from lower labor and energy costs, along with slimmed-down, more efficient plants. “We are likely to see a continued growth of exports, as the U.S. has a more competitive cost structure than before, better products and more global platforms that can be shipped elsewhere,” said Xavier Mosquet, an auto specialist with the Boston Consulting Group.

At the same time Ford was showing off the new Mustang, Toyota was starting production of its new Highlander sport utility vehicle in Princeton, Ind. Toyota officials said that key markets for the Highlander were Russia and Australia.

While Ford is looking to broaden its Mustang sales in overseas markets, foreign automakers like Toyota view exporting from the United States as an alternative to higher manufacturing costs in their home countries.

“It’s a hedge against currency fluctuations, but it also shows how attractive our products are in places like China, Russia and the Middle East,” said Mr. Carter of Toyota.

Other automakers are following suit. Nissan expects to export about 14 percent of its United States production overseas this year. And Honda predicts that by next year it will export more vehicles from North America — the bulk of them from American plants — than it will bring into the region from Japan.

Last year, Canada and Mexico accounted for about half of exports of American-made vehicles. A decade ago, the vast majority of exports were limited to Canada and Mexico, but demand for American models in is expanding rapidly in other countries.

Exports to Saudi Arabia, for example, have tripled since 2009. And sales to Chinese customers have increased fivefold over the same period.

Jaclyn Trop contributed reporting.