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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, this article focuses on companies considered to be largely pure-play electric vehicle 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.
As a relatively new industry, there is no benchmark for electric car companies. However, electric car stocks can be compared to the broader equity market as represented by the Russell 1000. The Russell 1000 has provided a total return of 35.7% over the past 12 months. This market performance number and all statistics in the tables below are as of June 9, 2021.
Here are the top 3 electric car stocks with the best value, the fastest growth, and the most momentum.
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
- Kandi Technologies Group Inc.: Kandi Technologies Group is a China-based company primarily focused on the development and production of electric vehicles (EVs), parts, and off-road vehicles. It produces mini electric cars, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), go-karts, and motorcycles. In late May, the company unveiled its new K32 utility terrain vehicle (UTV), which features pure electric four-wheel-drive propulsion and a fully enclosed cockpit with air conditioning. Sales of the new vehicle are planned to begin sometime in 2021.
- Li Auto Inc.: Li Auto is a China-based developer and manufacturer of smart electric vehicles. 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 electric vehicles, and related parts. Its vehicles are equipped with assisted-driving features. The company also provides vehicle charging solutions. In May, NIO delivered 6,711 vehicles, a year-over-year (YOY) increase of 95.3%. NIO said that its vehicle deliveries were adversely impacted for several days due to semiconductor supply issues.
These are the top electric car stocks as ranked by a growth model that scores companies based on a 50/50 weighting of their most recent quarterly YOY percentage revenue growth and their most recent quarterly YOY earnings-per-share (EPS) growth. Both sales and earnings are critical factors in the success of a company. Therefore ranking companies by only one growth metric makes a ranking susceptible to the accounting anomalies of that quarter (such as changes in tax law or restructuring costs) that may make one or the other figure unrepresentative of the business in general. Companies with quarterly EPS or revenue growth of over 2,500% were excluded as outliers.
| Fastest Growing Electric Car Stocks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price ($) | Market Cap ($B) | EPS Growth (%) | Revenue Growth (%) | |
| XPeng Inc. ( XPEV) |
38.07 | 30.6 | N/A (see company description) | 670.6 |
| NIO Inc. (NIO) | 42.74 | 70.0 | N/A (see company description) | 526.1 |
| Workhorse Group Inc. (WKHS) | 16.90 | 2.1 | N/A (see company description) | 518.1 |
Source: YCharts
- XPeng Inc.: XPeng is a China-based company that designs and manufactures smart electric vehicles. 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. In May, XPeng delivered 5,686 vehicles, a 483% YOY increase. Because the company posted a net loss for the most recent quarter we cannot calculate an EPS growth rate for the table above.
- NIO Inc.: See above for company description. Because the company posted a net loss for the most recent quarter we cannot calculate an EPS growth rate for the table above.
- Workhorse Group Inc.: Workhorse Group designs and builds electric vehicles and aircraft, including cargo vans, medium and light-duty pickup trucks, delivery drones, and electric vehicle take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircrafts. Its products are aimed at providing solutions to the commercial transportation sector. The company also designs cloud-based, real-time telematics performance monitoring systems. Workhorse announced in May financial results for Q1 of its 2021 fiscal year (FY), the three-month period ended March 31, 2021. Workhorse’s net sales soared 518.1%. However, the company posted a net loss of $120.5 million, a significant change from net income of $4.8 million reported in the year-ago quarter. Because the company posted a net loss for the most recent quarter we cannot calculate an EPS growth rate for the table above. The company’s earnings were adversely impacted by a reduction in the fair value of its investment in Lordstown Motor Corp. (RIDE).
These are the electric car stocks that had the highest total return over the last 12 months.
Source: YCharts
- Blink Charging Co.: Blink Charging owns and operates electric vehicle charging equipment and a network of charging stations. It manages proprietary cloud-based software to run its charging stations network. The company serves residential consumers as well as building owners, parking garages, municipalities, sporting venues, and other public areas. Blink Charging announced in May that it had acquired Belgium-based electric vehicle charging operator Blue Corner NV for approximately $24 million. The acquisition gives Blink control over Blue Corner’s portfolio of 7,071 charging ports and European charging network.
- GreenPower Motor Co. Inc.: GreenPower Motor is a Canada-based manufacturer of all-electric transit, school, and charter buses. The company also offers commercial vehicles for delivery, micro-transit, vanpools, and more.
- NIO Inc.: See above for company description.
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