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The electric auto industry is comprised of companies focused on the manufacture of electric cars, trucks, vans, and commercial vehicles, as well as companies that offer electric automobile parts and services. While some traditional automakers also produce electric vehicles (EV), this article focuses on companies considered to be largely pure-play EV manufacturers. The electric car industry is young and growing quickly. Tesla Inc. (TSLA) is one of the more familiar names, but there are others like Workhorse Group Inc. (WKHS) and Arcimoto Inc. (FUV) that are exhibiting rapid growth.
More change may be ahead for EV makers. China’s industry and information and technology minister has said that there are “too many” electric car makers and that the government will encourage consolidation. A large number of electric car makers are headquartered in China.
Electric car stocks, represented by the KraneShares Electric Vehicle and Future Mobility ETF (KARS), have slightly outperformed the broader market over the past year. KARS has provided a total return of 26.0% over the past 12 months, just above the Russell 1000’s total return of 24.4%. These market performance numbers and all statistics in the tables below are as of Jan. 6, 2022.
This article contains the top three electric car stocks with the best value, the fastest growth, and the most momentum.
On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The bipartisan infrastructure bill authorizes $1.2 trillion in spending, which includes:
- $7.5 billion allocated to build out the network of EV charging stations
- $110 billion of new spending on roads and bridges
- $65 billion for broadband investment to provide access to the internet
The legislation is good news to EV manufacturers and will help deploy EV chargers along highways and within communities where people live, work, and shop. The legislation is part of President Biden’s goal of accelerating EV adoption by building a network of 500,000 EV chargers nationwide.
These are the electric car stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio. For companies in early stages of development or industries suffering from major shocks, this can be substituted as a rough measure of a business’s value. A business with higher sales could eventually produce more profit when it achieves, or returns to, profitability. The price-to-sales ratio shows how much you’re paying for the stock for each dollar of sales generated.
Source: YCharts
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- Li Auto Inc.: Li Auto is a China-based developer and manufacturer of smart EVs. Its main product is the Li ONE, a smart electric sport utility vehicle (SUV). The company also sells peripheral products and related services, including charging stalls and Internet connection services for vehicles.
- NIO Inc.: NIO is a China-based manufacturer of smart and connected EVs, and related parts. Its vehicles are equipped with assisted-driving features. The company also provides vehicle charging solutions.
- XPeng Inc.: XPeng is a China-based company that designs and manufactures smart EVs. Its vehicles provide seamless integration with advanced Internet, artificial intelligence (AI), and autonomous driving technologies. The company also provides a range of related services, such as supercharging, maintenance, and vehicle leasing services. XPeng announced in late November financial results for Q3 of its 2021 fiscal year (FY), the three-month period ended Sept. 30, 2021. The company’s net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders narrowed by 21.3% compared to the year-ago quarter. Total revenues expanded 187.4% year over year (YOY). XPeng noted that it achieved strong growth for the quarter despite facing supply-chain challenges related to the global semiconductor shortage.
These are the electric car stocks with the highest year-over-year (YOY) sales growth for the most recent quarter. Rising sales can help investors identify companies that are able to grow revenue organically or through other means, and find growing companies that have not yet reached profitability. In addition, earnings per share can be significantly influenced by accounting factors that may not reflect the overall strength of the business. However, sales growth can also be potentially misleading about the strength of a business, because growing sales on money-losing businesses can be harmful if the company has no plan to reach profitability.
Source: YCharts
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- Romeo Power Inc.: Romeo Power is a provider of advanced electrification solutions for complex commercial vehicle applications. It offers hardware and a battery management systems for electric commercial vehicles. The company announced in mid-November financial results for Q3 FY 2021, ended Sept. 30, 2021. Romeo Power’s net loss widened to $18.0 million from $8.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Total revenues rose 753.2% YOY. Total cost of revenues and total operating expenses also expanded significantly, contributing to the net loss.
- Blink Charging Co.: Blink Charging owns and operates EV charging equipment and a network of charging stations managed by its proprietary cloud-based software. The company serves residential consumers as well as building owners, parking garages, municipalities, sporting venues, and other public areas. Blink Charging announced in mid-November financial results for Q3 FY 2021, ended Sept. 30, 2021. The company’s net loss widened to $15.3 million from $3.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue expanded 606.6% YOY, primarily driven by growth in product sales, including for commercial chargers, DC fast chargers, and residential chargers. Revenue also received a boost from the acquisition of Blue Corner, a Belgium-based EV charging operator.
- Li Auto Inc.: See above for company description.
These are the electric car stocks that had the highest total return over the last 12 months.
| Electric Car Stocks with the Most Momentum | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price ($) | Market Cap ($B) | 12-Month Trailing Total Return (%) | |
| Tesla Inc. (TSLA) | 1064.70 | 1,069 | 40.8 |
| XPeng Inc. (XPEV) | 46.66 | 40.0 | 13.2 |
| Fisker Inc. (FSR) | 16.33 | 4.8 | 7.1 |
| Russell 1000 | N/A | N/A | 24.4 |
| KraneShares Electric Vehicle and Future Mobility ETF (KARS) | N/A | N/A | 26.0 |
Source: YCharts
- Tesla Inc.: Tesla, the world’s largest automaker by market value, is primarily engaged in the design and manufacture of electric cars, SUVs, and trucks, as well as EV powertrain components. The automaker also manufactures and installs solar energy generation and energy storage products. At the end of December, Tesla recalled over 475,000 vehicles in order to address rearview camera and trunk issues that the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says increase the risk of crashing. The EV maker recently reported total deliveries of 936,000 vehicles for all of 2021, with 308,000 of those deliveries made in the fourth quarter.
- XPeng Inc.: See above for company description.
- Fisker Inc.: Fisker is an electric car company. It currently has one electric SUV model, called Ocean, that it plans to begin producing by the end of 2022.
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