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. Though some traditional automakers also produce electric vehicles (EVs), this article focuses on companies considered to be largely pure-play EV manufacturers. The electric car industry is young and growing quickly. Tesla Inc. is one of the more familiar names, but there are others, such as Workhorse Group Inc. and Arcimoto Inc., 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 or have major manufacturing operations in China. Additionally, rising costs of raw materials have forced many EV makers to raise prices, which could rein in sales growth and force smaller players to cut some models.
Electric car stocks, represented by the KraneShares Electric Vehicle and Future Mobility ETF (KARS), have underperformed the broader market over the past year. KARS has provided a total return of 5.4% over the past 12 months, below the Russell 1000’s total return of 13.3%. These market performance numbers and all statistics in the tables below are as of March 31, 2022.
This article contains the top three electric car stocks with the best value, the fastest growth, and the best performance, respectively.
On Nov. 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The bipartisan infrastructure bill authorized $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
- $65 billion for broadband investment to provide access to the Internet
The legislation is good news to EV manufacturers and will help deploy EV chargers along highways and within communities where people live, work, and shop. The legislation is part of President Biden’s goal of accelerating EV adoption by building a network of 500,000 EV chargers nationwide.
These are the electric car stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio. For companies in early stages of development or industries suffering from major shocks, this can serve as a rough measure of a business’s value. A business with higher sales could eventually produce more profit when it achieves (or returns to) profitability. The price-to-sales ratio shows how much you’re paying for the stock for each dollar of sales generated.
| Best Value Electric Car Stocks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price ($) | Market Cap ($B) | 12-Month Trailing P/S Ratio | |
| Li Auto Inc. (LI) | 25.81 | 26.7 | 5.8 |
| NIO Inc. (NIO) | 21.05 | 35.1 | 5.9 |
| XPeng Inc. (XPEV) | 27.59 | 23.6 | 7.0 |
Source: YCharts
- 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. The company reported Q4 2021 results for the period ended Dec. 31 on Feb. 25, 2022. Net income nearly tripled as total revenues more than doubled year-over-year (YOY). Vehicle sales improved dramatically over the same period.
- 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 equipment.
- XPeng Inc.: XPeng is a China-based company that designs and manufactures smart EVs. Its vehicles integrate 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. For the month of March, XPeng delivered 15,414 smart EVs. This is triple the number of the prior-year quarter and a 148% increase over the previous month on a sequential basis.
These are the electric car stocks with the highest 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, accounting factors that may not reflect the overall strength of the business can significantly influence earnings per share. 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.
| Fastest-Growing Electric Car Stocks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price ($) | Market Cap ($B) | Revenue Growth (%) | |
| Blink Charging Co. (BLNK) | 26.46 | 1.1 | 224.0 |
| XPeng Inc. (XPEV) | 27.59 | 23.6 | 210.9 |
| Li Auto Inc. (LI) | 25.81 | 26.7 | 165.3 |
Source: YCharts
- Blink Charging Co.: Blink Charging owns and operates EV charging equipment and a network of charging stations managed by its proprietary cloud-based software. The company serves residential consumers as well as building owners, parking garages, municipalities, sporting venues, and other public areas. On March 10, the company reported widening net losses as revenue more than tripled YOY for Q4 2021, ended Dec. 31. Strong product sales and service revenues as drivers of performance.
- XPeng Inc.: See above for company description.
- Li Auto Inc.: See above for company description.
These are the electric car stocks that had the best returns or smallest declines in total return over the past 12 months out of the companies we looked at.
| Electric Car Stocks With the Best Performance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price ($) | Market Cap ($B) | 12-Month Trailing Total Return (%) | |
| Tesla Inc. (TSLA) | 1077.60 | 1,114 | 61.3 |
| Li Auto Inc. (LI) | 25.81 | 26.7 | 3.2 |
| Plug Power Inc. (PLUG) | 28.61 | 16.5 | -20.2 |
| Russell 1000 | N/A | N/A | 13.3 |
| KraneShares Electric Vehicle and Future Mobility ETF (KARS) | N/A | N/A | 5.4 |
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. On April 2, the company reported that it produced over 305,000 vehicles and delivered over 310,000 vehicles in Q1 2022.
- Li Auto Inc.: See above for company description.
- Plug Power Inc.: Plug Power makes hydrogen fuel cell turnkey solutions. It provides clean hydrogen and zero-emissions fuel cell products for vehicles, the stationary power market, supply chain and logistics applications, and more.
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