The bull market for electric vehicles is far from over. Of course, there was euphoria and it’s been followed by readjustment to realistic valuations. However, the EV growth story isn’t even close to being over. It’s therefore a good time to look at some EV stocks to buy for the long term. I would agree with the view that intense competition in the industry would imply elimination of weaker players.
Recently, the Biden-Harris administration proposed the “strongest ever” pollution standards for cars and trucks. This move is likely to help in accelerating EV adoption. The story is the same globally where the government is offering incentives to companies and consumers to boost EV adoption. I therefore believe that the next bull market for EVs will translate into multibagger returns for several stocks. This column discusses seven attractive EV stocks to buy.
| PSNY | Polestar Automotive | $3.60 |
| NIO | Nio. | $8.22 |
| PCRFY | Panasonic | $9.53 |
| SLDP | Solid Power | $2.27 |
| CHPT | ChargePoint | $8.86 |
| LI | Li Auto | $22.81 |
| LCID | Lucid Group | $7.19 |
EV Stocks to Buy: Polestar Automotive (PSNY)
Polestar Automotive (NASDAQ:PSNY) stock has been in a sustained downtrend. However, business developments have been positive and PSNY stock seems massively undervalued. In addition, for Q1 2023, Polestar delivered 12,000 vehicles and the company reaffirmed its guidance for 80,000 car deliveries through 2023. Over the next 24 months, I see several delivery growth catalysts.
First, Polestar 3 production will commence in the coming months and will support deliveries growth. Further, Polestar 4 has also been unveiled and the SUV will commence production in 2024. It’s also worth noting that Polestar is present in 27 markets globally. The company has also unveiled the models in China, which is a big entry market for accelerating growth.
Polestar ended 2022 with a cash balance of $974 million. Fund raising is likely in 2023 to improve the company’s financial flexibility. Overall, Polestar seems positioned to survive intense competition and grow. It’s among the top EV stocks to buy with multibagger returns potential.
EV Stocks to Buy: Nio (NIO)
Nio (NYSE:NIO) appears to be stabilizing after a severe correction. In fact, over the last month, NIO tacked on 5% of upside. I also believe Nio is grossly undervalued below $10. A sharp rally might be on the cards if deliveries growth impresses.
For Q1 2023, Nio delivered 31,041 vehicles, which was higher by 20.5% on a year-on-year basis. With the anticipated launch of several new models in 2023, I believe that deliveries growth will remain robust. Battery swapping technology and battery-as-a-service are also differentiators for Nio as compared to peers.
It’s worth noting that Nio ended 2022 with cash and equivalents of $6.6 billion. By 2025, Nio intends to expand into 25 countries globally. There is ample financial flexibility to pursue aggressive expansion and invest in product development. Of course, pricing war within the industry is likely to impact margins to some extent. However, this factor is discounted in the stock. The markets are likely to focus on the new model launches and a potential acceleration in deliveries growth.
EV Stocks to Buy: Panasonic Holdings (PCRFY)
Panasonic Holdings (OTCMKTS:PCRFY) is among the EV stocks that could surge in the coming quarters. PCRFY stock has already gained some momentum with a rally of 14% for year-to-date 2023. At a forward P/E ratio of 17.3, the stock remains undervalued.
One reason to like Panasonic is that the company is eying aggressive expansion. The company is already contemplating building a third battery plant in the U.S. in Oklahoma. The second EV battery plant in Kansas will be built with an investment of $4 billion. Additionally, the company is working with Toyota (NYSE:TM) for building a new EV battery plant in Japan. The bottom-line is that these investments will translate into revenue and cash flow upside.
I also like Panasonic considering the innovation factor. The company is targeting an “increase battery energy density by a fifth by 2030.” This can help in manufacturing lighter EVs while keeping the range unchanged. With innovation, Panasonic is likely to maintain or boost its market share.
Solid Power (SLDP)
Solid Power (NASDAQ:SLDP) has been trading sideways year to date. However, I believe that a big rally may be nearing. Last month, Needham reinstated coverage on Solid Power with a price target of $5. This would imply 100% upside from current levels.
Solid-state batteries for electric vehicles are still in a development stage. Solid Power seems to be best positioned to commercialize the technology in the coming years. A key reason for this view is the backing of strong automotive partners. In December 2022, the company signed an extended agreement with BMW (OTCMKTS:BMWYY). Solid Power will license its battery technology to BMW and this will allow for parallel research and development.
Further, with the backing of Ford (NYSE:F) and BMW, there is unlikely to be any financial constraints. Solid Power expects to deliver EV cells to automotive partners in 2023 for validation testing. It’s a key catalyst for a major upside.
ChargePoint Holdings (CHPT)
ChargePoint Holdings (NYSE:CHPT) is among the top EV charging stocks that could surge from undervalued levels shortly. As an overview, ChargePoint claims to have leadership position in the U.S. in terms of the number of charging ports activated. The company has also expanded presence to 16 European markets. With significant impending penetration in these regions, ChargePoint is positioned for robust growth.
Another important point to note is that the company’s subscription and services revenue is increasing on a consistent basis. In the next five years, recurring revenue will be meaningful and boost the EBITDA margin. To put things into perspective, the company reported revenue of $468 million for 2022. For the same period, the subscription revenue was $100 million.
ChargePoint has pursued inorganic growth in the past to make inroads in Europe. With $399.5 million in cash buffer, there is ample financial flexibility to pursue aggressive organic and acquisition driven growth.
Li Auto (LI)
Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) has been among the best performing EV stocks in the last 12 months. During this period, LI stock has remained sideways with most EV stocks correcting significantly. As an example, Chinese peers Nio and Xpeng (NYSE:XPEV) are down 55% and 63% respectively.
The stock resilience is a clear indication of undervaluation and positive business developments. Once the sentiment for the industry turns positive, LI stock is likely to skyrocket.As an overview, the company’s first model was launched in Nov. 2019, Li ONE. The second model, Li L9, was launched in June 2022. However, the company has taken an aggressive stance with the launch of Li L8 and Li L7. Both these models have commenced deliveries in April.
The launch of multiple models explains the stock resilience. It’s likely that deliveries growth will accelerate meaningfully in the coming quarters. The results are already to be seen with Li reporting 65.8% deliveries growth in Q1 2023 on a year-on-year basis.
Lucid Group (LCID)
Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID) might be a short-squeeze candidate with short interest above 20% of the float. For Lucid, progress has been slow in terms of production and deliveries. This is one reason for the stock being depressed. However, it finally seems that deliveries growth will accelerate in 2023. At the higher end of the guidance, Lucid expects 100% growth in production on a year-on-year basis. Deliveries are also likely to remain strong with Lucid having a reservation backlog of 28,000 vehicles.
Another important point to note is that the company expects to commence production of Lucid Air Sapphire in 2023. Additionally, production of Lucid Gravity SUV will commence in 2024. Reservations for these models will add to the revenue visibility.
On Penny Stocks and Low-Volume Stocks: With only the rarest exceptions, InvestorPlace does not publish commentary about companies that have a market cap of less than $100 million or trade less than 100,000 shares each day. That’s because these “penny stocks” are frequently the playground for scam artists and market manipulators. If we ever do publish commentary on a low-volume stock that may be affected by our commentary, we demand that InvestorPlace.com’s writers disclose this fact and warn readers of the risks.
Read More: Penny Stocks — How to Profit Without Getting Scammed
On the date of publication, Faisal Humayun did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.