Stocks to buy

7 Electric Vehicle Stocks With the Most Potential for 2023 and Beyond

Electric vehicle stocks were arguably the most attractive investments during the bull market of 2020. With an incredible outlook ahead for the sector, the surge of their value was justified.

But the opposite has transpired this year. Nevertheless, there are a few EV stocks that have the potential to soar in 2023 and beyond. Moreover, many of those stocks’ prices are near record lows, making this a good time to pounce on them.

The market has been turned on its head amidst rising inflation and increasing interest rates. And post-pandemic supply chain issues have significantly, negatively impacted EV makers’ bottom lines.

Additionally, growth stocks in general have taken a turn for the worse, accelerating the correction of EV stocks. However, as another InvestorPlace columnist, Faisal Humayun pointed out, “the correction is already overdone.”

Therefore, It’s an ideal time for long-term investors to scoop up electric vehicle stocks.

RIVN Rivian $32.41
F Ford $15.33
PRTA Proterra $29.85
GM General Motors $38.56
WKHS Workhorse $3.18
ARVL Arrival $1.20
QS Quantumscape $10.63

Rivian (RIVN)

Source: Michael Vi / Shutterstock

Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN)was arguably the hottest EV stock in the past couple of years right after its blockbuster IPO. And its second-quarter results showed that it could meaningfully ramp up its production in the face of macro challenges. So investing in RIVN stock over the long-term could prove to be very rewarding.

Rivian produced an incredible 6,954 vehicles during the year’s first half, generating $364 million of sales. These numbers comfortably surpassed analysts’ average estimates, while Rivian maintained its production guidance of 25,000 vehicles for the year.

To meet the guidance, RIVN needs to produce another 18,000 EVs in the second half, which points to a massive production increase.

Looking ahead, Rivian expects its sales to surge  to an incredible $6.5 billion next year. So in the long run, the firm’s profitability per-EV could improve substantially, making it one of the best bets in the EV space.

Ford (F)

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Ford (NYSE:F) is not exactly an EV pure-play, but it is poised to become a major player in the sector. Ford took much longer than many of its peers to shape its EV strategy. However, it now feels like all systems are go for the firm on the EV front, making it one of the more widely discussed players in the niche.

Its management unveiled plans to produce 600,000 EVs by the close of 2023 and 2 million by 2026. Moreover, it recently noted that it had secured enough  battery capacity, through contracts, to achieve its long-term goals. If everything goes to plan, the automotive giant could grow its EV business by 90% between 2021 and  2026.

Ford has a goal of investing more than $50 billion in its EVs through 2026, which suggests that it’s going all-in on its ambitious efforts.

Proterra (PTRA)

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Proterra (NASDAQ:PTRA) went public during the SPAC boom and has evolved into the most promising EV start-up. It’s effectively leveraging its position in the EV bus market in the U.S. and  plans to expand its battery business.

Amidst Proterra’s supply-chain issues, its stock has dropped quite a hit, but it remains an excellent high-risk, high-reward play. Moreover, it is still poised to become a worldwide battery-pack producer.

The company posted a strong Q2 top line of  $74.56 million, beating analysts’ average estimates by $2.25 million. Moreover, it expects its total sales to grow between 24% and 34% in 2022 to around $325 million. Although 2023 might be a challenging year for PTRA,I think that it will be able to fulfill its orders more quickly in 2024.

The Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act appropriates a whopping $5 billion investment for low- or zero-emission buses. Moreover, Proterra estimates that its total addressable market is a massive $260 billion, so it has a colossal growth runway ahead.

General Motors (GM)

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General Motors (NYSE:GM)  is a juggernaut in the automotive space, as it has built incredible brand equity over the years.

However, in the past few years, its revenue growth has stalled, prompting it to pivot towards EVs, which should be the next frontier of the automotive world. Unlike Ford, GM plans to eventually abandon its traditional combustion engine business and has pledged to invest a massive $35 billion in its EV efforts by 2025.

GM intends to only produce zero-emission vehicles by 2035. The automaker’s focus on its EV business could prove incredibly beneficial to GM stock .because the move will arguably make it more cost-efficient in the longer term

Workhorse (WKHS)

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Workhorse (NYSE:WKHS)  designs and develops commercial-grade, medium-duty, last-mile delivery trucks. It also produces delivery drones and real-time analytics systems that enable companies to manage their fleets.

Safety issues surrounding Workhorse’s flagship C1000 electric truck resulted in a massive decline of its stock price. However, the safety concerns have been dealt with, and WKHS is now looking to switch on the afterburners when it comes to production. In addition to the 161 repaired C1000s, the firm could produce more than 50-75 of the trucks by the end of the year.

Furthermore, it expects to start producing its W750 model in Q3, followed by its W56 and W34 EVs in 2023 and 2024.

It appears that WKHS has sufficient funds to survive despite the capital-intensive nature of its business. Moreover, its partnerships with the USDA and GreenPower Motor Company reflect well on its products.

Arrival (ARVL)

Source: Shutterstock

Arrival (NASDAQ:ARVL) is looking to change the EV sector’s manufacturing practices. If the U.K.-based firm delivers  on its promises, it could generate incredibly fast revenue growth over the next few years. And it is supposed to begin delivering its vans by the end of 2022, and that development could meaningfully lift ARVL stock.

Arrival is looking to lower the costs of developing EVs by using robotics, composite materials, and “microfactories.” Its micro-factories only cost $50 million each and can be launched much faster than traditional factories

Though ARVL has developed a van, bus, and car, it is prioritizing the production of Arrival Van to cut costs and meet the ambitious product targets that it has set for its electric van. If it can achieve those targets, it can subsequently quickly scale up the production of its two other EVs.

QuantumScape (QS)

Source: Michael Vi / Shutterstock.com

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS)  is a solid-state battery producer that could potentially revolutionize the entire EV sector.

Its solid-state batteries have proven to retain more energy than traditional lithium-ion batteries. Moreover, it has partnerships with four major automakers, including a titan of the automotive sector, Volkswagen (OTC:VLKAF).

Last year, QS achieved all its development objectives. After testing batteries with one, four, and ten-layer cells, it is working on the development of a 24-layer prototype. As a result, it’s on track to produce a high number of prototypes of its batteries by next year; however, full-scale production of the batteries may not be achieved until 2025.

The market for solid-state batteries is expected to grow by 36% from 2021 to 2028, so QS stock is well-positioned to advance over the longer term.

On the date of publication, Muslim Farooque did not have (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.

Muslim Farooque is a keen investor and an optimist at heart. A life-long gamer and tech enthusiast, he has a particular affinity for analyzing technology stocks. Muslim holds a bachelor’s of science degree in applied accounting from Oxford Brookes University.