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3 Legacy Automakers to Watch As the Shift to EVs Speeds Up

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Electric vehicles (“EVs”) have been taking the automotive space by storm over the past few years as the world continues to battle climate change and reduce carbon dioxide emission. Major players like Tesla, Inc. (TSLA - Free Report) have driven this shift toward EVs and the pace of this adoption looks set to accelerate further. Notably, IHS Markit predicted in a report that the global sales of battery EVs and other EVs are estimated to surge about 70% in 2021. Moreover, the report mentioned that in 2025, global sales are expected to top 12.2 million, reflecting a compounded annual growth of 52%.

Markedly, pure players have largely dominated the EV space so far with legacy automakers feeling the heat. However, legacy automakers have been picking up their pace gradually by making efforts to shift their focus to EVs. Toward that end, major U.S. automobile manufacturers like Ford Motor Company (F - Free Report) and General Motors Company (GM - Free Report) have stated their commitment to EVs and are looking to heavily invest in the space going forward. Notably, Ford recently announced that it will be increasing its investment in electric and autonomous vehicles to $29 billion, as quoted in a Verge article. Meanwhile, an NBC article cited that General Motors plans to completely phase out its vehicles that use internal combustion engines by 2035 and go all-electric.

Moreover, this rapid shift to EVs is increasing competition and in such a scenario, automakers have to present more new vehicle models in order to lure customers into the EV market. Toward that end, a report by BloombergNEF predicted that there will be over 500 different EV models available globally by 2022.

Legacy Automakers See EV Sales Spiking in First-Quarter 2021

The first quarter of 2021 has been noteworthy for legacy automakers in terms of EV sales. Both Ford and General Motors saw EV sales rising in the United States in the first quarter. Notably, Ford reported that its Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid saw an increase of 74% with 25,980 vehicles sold, as quoted in a Detroit News article. Meanwhile, General Motors also saw its Bolt EV sales increasing 53.67% to 9,025 units, as mentioned in a GM Authority article.

3 Stocks to Keep an Eye On

Legacy automakers have been deepening their focus on the EV space as the shift to going green is accelerating. This makes it a good time to look at names that are continuing their focus on this uptrend and stand to benefit from this potential. Notably, we have selected three such stocks that carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Toyota Motor Corporation (TM - Free Report) has been offering its hybrid vehicle Camry and the company also recently forayed into the EV space and is set to debut its global electric SUV soon. Toyota currently has a Zacks Rank #1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 28.6% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the next five years is 11.2%.

Ford has also forayed into the EV space with models like the 2021 Mustang Mach-E and 2020 Fusion Hybrid. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 2.9% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is more than 100%.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC - Free Report) is also venturing into the EV space with offerings like the Honda e as the company is striving to electrify two-thirds of its global unit sales in 2030. It currently has a Zacks Rank #3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 17% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the next five years is 21.8%.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

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