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 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.

More change may be ahead for EV makers. China’s industry and information and technology minister said today 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, as represented by the KraneShares Electric Vehicle and Future Mobility ETF (KARS), have outperformed the broader market over the past year. KARS has provided a total return of 65.0% over the past 12 months, well above the Russell 1000’s total return of 35.8%. These market performance numbers and all statistics in the tables below are as of Sept. 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.

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• 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. Kandi Technologies announced in July that it has acquired Jiangxi Province Huiyi New Energy Co. Ltd., a China-based battery cell producer, for approximately $7.7 million.
• 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. NIO announced in early September that it delivered 5,880 vehicles in August for a year-over-year (YOY) increase of 48.3%. The company also revised downward its guidance for vehicle deliveries in the third quarter due to semiconductor supply constraints. Many automakers have had to limit production this year amid a global semiconductor shortage.

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.

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• Electrameccanica Vehicles Corp. Ltd.: Electrameccanica Vehicles is a Canada-based manufacturer of electric vehicles and high-end, custom-built vehicles. The company reported negative EPS in the most recent quarter, which is why an EPS growth rate could not be calculated for the above table.
• 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. The company announced in late July the appointment of Richard F. Dauch as chief executive officer (CEO), effective Aug. 2, 2021. Dauch, previously CEO of Delphi Technologies, succeeds Duane Hughes. Workhorse Group’s EPS was negative in the most recent quarter, which is why an EPS growth rate could not be calculated for the above table.
• 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 electric vehicle powertrain components. The automaker also manufactures and installs solar energy generation and energy storage products.

These are the electric car stocks that had the highest total return over the last 12 months.

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• Blink Charging Co.: Blink Charging owns and operates electric vehicle 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 August financial results for Q2 of its 2021 fiscal year (FY), the three-month period ended June 30, 2021. The company’s net loss widened to $13.5 million from $3.0 million in the year-ago quarter despite a 176.9% YOY increase in total revenue. Total operating expenses rose much faster than revenue, contributing to a much greater net loss than in the year-ago quarter.
• Arcimoto Inc.: Arcimoto develops and manufactures three-wheeled electric vehicles. Its three main vehicle designs include: a fun utility vehicle, a vehicle for first responders, and a last-mile delivery vehicle (last-mile delivery refers to the final stage of the supply chain whereby an item is transported from a local warehouse or fulfillment center to the end customer).
• 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.

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