This week top EV stocks moved in ways as weird as Matt Gaetz getting Trump’s permission to elope, but paper-thin misdirection aside, there was good news for investors as well. Missed building on the first roundup last week because I was building a website, but this roundup I’ll revisit the familiars, add some new contenders, and partially touch on the major auto manufacturers’ EV offerings. Buckle in, it’s going to be an electrifying ride. Please note, all share prices and valuations were recorded during trading on Thursday.
Arcimoto (FUV.Q)
is strong with cash, low in debt and moving to grow into a 200,000 square foot manufacturing facility hopefully by the end of the year, but the company has been light on news since its announcement of the Graduate Hotels partnership on the 17th. The Graduate Eugene placement of Arcimoto’s rental stock is a start, but let’s face it, it’s Oregon, so little better than a pilot program. The EV manufacturer has a long way to go before the proverbial rubber hits the road. This week, Arcimoto’s stock price climbed 7.82% to hit $12.82 USD for a market cap of $459.55 million with 36.99 million shares outstanding.
Canoo (GOEV.Q) has an interesting circular economic approach with its reusable frame which houses multiple models allowing for extended life/functionality/revenue for 2nd, 3rd and 4th owners. However, the company’s game plan remains somewhat confused as it claims to have shifted to fleet sales while continuing to develop personal vehicle designs. Canoo’s recent sustainability manifestion on the 26th did nothing to resolve this split personality but followed in the footsteps of Musk with bafflegab and bravado. As such, the company wasn’t one of the top EV stocks this week. Share price pitted out and only managed to gain 0.59% to sit at $7.62 per share. Canoo is another product of a billion-dollar SPAC market entry with nothing on the assembly line, so practice caution. Currently Canoo is valued at $1.80 billion on high volume trading with 37.39 million shares outstanding.
ElectraMeccanica (SOLO.Q) is Arcimoto’s closest competition with its flagship, SOLO. The Canadian manufacturer best known for the three-wheeled tiny EV ride, showcased the SOLO EV and debuted the “cargo” version of its flagship model at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Long Beach, California which ran from August 31st to September 1st. EM provided attendees with the opportunity to test drive the SOLO on September 1st. The company is also slated to virtually present at the 10th Annual Gateway Conference on September 8th. EM is headquartered out of Vancouver from a first-floor storefront on 1st avenue. If you want to take a gander at the EM’s upcoming $150,000 Roadster, you should drop by. The EV manufacturer is still struggling to achieve a positive bottom line but its relatively economical market cap makes it interesting in the field of top EV stocks. Up 8.50% to $3.70 per share, EM’s outstanding share count of 113.04 million brings the company’s market cap to $403.55 million.
Fisker’s (FSR) announced teaming up with decorated British racing sensation, Abbie Eaton, to flesh out the development of the company’s Ocean SUV. Abbie will work closely with Fisker’s engineering and product development team to on the Ocean program. She will be focusing her experience on enhancing the Ocean’s chassis design and vehicle dynamics. The company intends to build multiple test and validation prototypes of the Ocean through 2021 with each iteration including more production-intent subsystems. The goal is to have the first full vehicle prototypes built by the end of fiscal 2021. Fisker has enough cash to burn until 2027 and seems on track to execute on its milestones barring any technical mishaps. Potential customers can put down $250 to reserve their Ocean SUV which has a base price of $37,499 before government credit. Affordability plays in the favour of Fisker which currently trades at $14.28 per share for a market cap of $4.23 billion, but the company has a long way to go before it justifies its enterprise value and joins the legion of top EV stocks.
Green Motor Power Company (GPV.V) moved into positive territory this week, rising 6.25% to begin a long-awaited upward trend after its year-long slip. The company paired its bump on the boards with the unveiling of its all-electric Beast school bus at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Long Beach, California. GPMC also showcased its EV Star and EV Star Cargo Plus alongside of the Beast. I like Green Power’s potential of becoming a member of the EV top stocks club. It has been building on its revenue like a beast while servicing a dependable niche market badly in need of an environmental overhaul. Company president and director, Brendan Riley is no stranger to the sector and in a past life as North American VP of Fleet Sales for BYD Motors, Riley negotiated the largest privately funded electric bus contract in North America – twice. GPMC is beginning to turn its wheels, but it has its work cut out for it as it will eventually have to compete with Riley’s alma mater which has delivered 65,000 electric buses worldwide and counts Berkshire Hathaway as one of its largest shareholders. All things considered, with its relatively sane valuation and improving revenue performance, this may be one to keep on the radar. GMPC sits at a $367.73 million CAD market cap with 20.88 million outstanding shares.
Kandi Technologies (KNDI.Q) eased up 3.91% to $5.19 per share in the last five days on no news. The company is bringing many of its manufacturing and supply chain partners in-house as it continues to build on its revenues with a line of economical EV options designed for the city commuter. Kandi’s affordable appeal is its sweet spot in a sector used to catering to well-shod narcissists. Practicality is key, not ridiculously redesigned door handles that require a hair dryer to open in winter. There is a lot to be done yet, but the company’s EV sales continue to improve dramatically and again, a relatively sane market cap leaves room to breathe as Kandi builds real shareholder value. The company is currently valued at $388.66 million with 75.91 million shares outstanding and could listed one day as one of the top EV stocks.
Li Auto (LI.Q) experienced a bump like many of its competitors, climbing 5.94% in the markets since August 22nd. The company announced its Q2 2021 financials with better margins of 18.7%, up from 16.9% in Q1. Li pulled in $759.4 million in the quarter, a 41.6% increase over Q1, with gross profit of $147.6 million. However, the company took an $83 million dollar hit and ended up with a net loss of $36.5 million. There may still be questions as to the validity of these numbers since doubts have been raised about the company’s ability to properly interpret GAAP reporting requirements, so you may want to take what is said with a grain of salt. In August, Li surpassed Tesla in job listings after delivering over 8,000 Li ONEs in July. However, the company was subjected to negative publicity at the beginning of the August after a Li ONE SUV owner was able to fool the vehicle into driving on its own without him in the front seat. Li Auto went on the offensive condemning the driver for their actions, but in a world that celebrates the consumption of Tide pods, this probably won’t be the last time Li will have to chastise a customer for breaching safety measures. Despite this, Li Auto is well on its way to dethroning Tesla in China. It will be interesting to see if it can do the same in the U.S. The company currently trades at $31.32 USD per share with a market cap of $30.81 billion.
Lordstown Motors (RIDE.Q) had a bumpy ride this week, but ended up climbing 3.77% to $6.60 per share, not necessarily one of the top EV stocks last week. The company appointed Daniel Ninivaggi as its new CEO on August 26th, signaling an end to the previous C-suite antics of Steve Burns and Julio Rodriguez. Investors went into a buying frenzy as a result. Lordstown recently demonstrated its Endurance pickup at the Northeast Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives’ 2021 Annual Conference in Burlington, Vermont. The company was hoping that those attending including airport executives of approximately 850 airports as well as a bevy of airport suppliers would be impressed enough with the display to make Lordstown part of their electrification initiative. It remains to be seen if the company can develop any sales traction and keep the love affair going with investors.
Lucid Group (LCID.Q) announced it would produce performance and range versions of the Lucid Air Dream Edition. The performance model has a top speed of 168 mph and 0-60 in 2.5 sec, enough to make you swallow your tongue. The range model is a little less powerful that its counterpart coming in at 933 horsepower but can still pull your cheeks back with a 2.7 sec 0-60. Lucid also announced plans to open its factory doors for a preview week at the end of September to inaugurate the production of the Lucid Air series However, share price still slipped 13.25% to $18.58 per share. Lucid is still in the high-end market and until it produces regular models, will remain a niche investment.
NIO (NIO), updated August’s delivery numbers to 5,880 units sold, a 48.3% increase year-over-year, but down from 7,931 cars in July. Nio also noted that cumulative deliveries for its ES8, ES6 and EC6 as of August 31, 2021, reached 131,408 units. The EV manufacturer went on to adjust its Q3 guidance with a delivery outlook range of 22,500 to 23,500 vehicles due to supply chain constraints. Covid has once again taken its toll on EV manufacturers, will chip shortages continue to plague the industry? We can only watch and wait to see if NIO takes on Tesla and wins.
Tesla (TSLA.Q) is a power mad carnival barker as Musk continues to string a line of bullshit stretching from here to Mars. Robot taxis, tab-less batteries, and Cybertruck production dates are just a sliver of Elon’s outright fabrications. Now he is going to make a robot based on the AI that currently crashes his cars into emergency vehicles and almost in the same breath boasts he will power Texas with an energy storage facility, using the same design that lit on fire in Australia and burned for 4 days before containment and disconnection from the grid. The king of bluffs and average engineer, his shill girlfriend and their progeny experiment are a perfect example of what happens when social media, money and arrogance supplant innovation, performance, and truth. As I said before, investors are going to experience a nasty reckoning in the next 18 months, despite moronic sycophants like Douglas Coupland, who scourged us with the term “Generation X”, claiming Elon is the “smartest person in any room anywhere.” Yeah, not a fan of Tesla or Coupland. You are free to do what you want, however.
Workhorse Group (WKHS.Q), edged down this week on to $9.37 per share and is the subject of a hit piece drawn up by short-selling research firm, Fuzzy Panda. In the report, the company is accused of fake pre-orders, accounting fraud, and concealing an SEC investigation into its activities. Adding insult to injury, Workhorse, the report also alleged the EV manufacturer’s vans were breaking down in the hands of customers. This on top of the company’s legal fight to overturn the US Postal Services decision to enlist defence contractor, Oshkosh, to provide the federal department with mail trucks, makes for an extremely sticky situation, not unlike the scandal that brought Nikola to its knees. With a market cap of $1.13 billion, Workhorse has a lot to answer for to suitably de-risk your investment. Not one of the top EV stocks until that point.
XL Fleet Corp (XL) edged up 2.31% this week to $6.86 per share. XL provides electrification solutions for North American commercial fleets. So rather than build the vehicle itself, they provide the parts that will electrify it. The company recently announced it was offering its hybrid electric drive system for Ram 2500 and 3500 heavy duty trucks. The XHL system marks XL’s first electrification product to be available for Ram Commercial, Stellantis’ (NYSE:STLA) line of commercial pickup trucks. The company’s Q2 financials reported $3.7 million in revenue but a remaining net loss of $10.5 million. This was due to high https://e4njohordzs.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/tnw8sVO3j-2.pngistration and sales costs as well as a pricy R&D bill. Founded in 2009 by MIT alumni, the company went public last December via SPAC, with shares popping as much as 68% on its first day of trading. Unfortunately, there has been a steady and rather precipitous decline since as it lost 66.09% of its initial value. On the surface, the idea seems sound. Rather than compete in a heavily saturated market, partner with existing traditional auto manufacturers to “upgrade” their products. The problem is the company is only able to make their product available and has no solid contract for providing EV drive systems. If XL Fleet can sign deals which guarantee installation on a larger commercial scale, they may add the performance necessary to make them one of the top EV stocks.
Xpeng (XPEV) dropped 2.16% to $40.78 per share. The other Chinese super EV manufacturer and Tesla competitor announced delivering 8,040 vehicles in July, a 228% increase year-over-year making it a record month for the company. Xpeng also announced the presale prices of its upcoming family smart sedan, the P5, which the company plans to launch in Q3 2021 with deliveries starting the following quarter. Unfortunately, Xpeng reported only 7,214 deliveries in August as HK listed share price dropped 5%. On top of the company shifting production of its G3 sports utility vehicle to the updated G3i during August, management said that semiconductor supply chain shortages remain its biggest production challenge. Covid 19’s impact on manufacturing is clear as EV producers struggle to keep up with guidance. With the increasing infection rates, variants, a return of restrictions and the faint possibility of limited lockdowns, Xpeng has its work cut out if it wants to continue the path of becoming one of the top EV stocks.
Traditional vehicle manufacturers are leaping into the EV fray, here is a quick breakdown of some of the players, their offerings and the news surrounding them:
GM (GM) continues to reel under its recent recall of 3 million Chevy Bolt units for battery safety concerns. The company has even stopped production of the vehicle as it slings mud on LG Chem for producing fire-prone battery cells. GM’s black eye will take a while to heal.
Ford (F) is pushing ten EV, hybrid, and hybrid plugin models. The company announced in early August that it would be pumping more than $30 billion in vehicle electrification through 2025 and plans to have its EV vehicles make up 40% of its global sales by 2040.
Toyota remains in the lead when it comes to important EV patents but sits well back in the pack in EV sales. The company continues to pound out its Prius and announced its 2022 line up in July which includes its base Prius which starts at $29,150 and the Prius Technology which starts at $33,690. The company also has three different versions of the Prius AWD-e. Back in June, Toyota announced its first electric crossover, the bZ4X. The vehicle, sporting the same nomenclature as the Techoking’s baby, is geared for a 2022 launch.
Volkswagen announced the Chinese debut of its lead EV offering, the ID.3 at the end of August. The company currently ranks in the top ten of EV manufacturers in China with 80,000 to 100,000 EV units expected to be delivered to Chinese customers by the end of the year. In H1 2021 despite the chip shortage, the German auto manufacturer managed to deliver almost three times as many EVs as the same period last year, amounting to some 160,000 units in total. Volkswagen has the potential to be one of the leading top EV stocks.
Nissan continues to push its 100% electric Nissan Leaf. The company announced in early August that the EV would have additional features and a new starting price of $27,400. In the last 11 years, Nissan has sold more than 500,000 LEAF vehicles across the globe and is striving to live up to its EV pioneer status with the upcoming US launch of its first-ever electric SUV, Ariya, in early 2022.
On a personal note, as this has something to do with the EV revolution, electric scooters are 2021’s answer to the Segway. Outside of urban delivery, they scream puerile elitism, and make you look like an overgrown eight-year-old. Just stop. Please, just stop.
Well, that sums up this week’s efforts, my eyes are blurry, and my head is swimming. More next week. Please let me know if I have missed any worthy contenders (I know I have) and I will do my best to include them in next roundup. Remember it’s up to you, spot your favorites, do your due diligence, and help create a better future. Good luck to all!
–Gaalen Engen
