2023 has come to an end. 2024 is here and the electric vehicle industry couldn’t be happier about that transition. EV stocks suffered through a very difficult 2023. The high interest rate environment was but one of many factors that served to stunt sector growth overall.
Investors could be forgiven for assuming that the electric vehicle industry is in decline given all of the negative news. However, the truth is that a record 1.2 million EVs were sold in the United States in 2023.
Projections anticipate compound annual growth in the double digits for the remainder of the decade. In short, there’s every reason to invest in EV stocks in early 2024.
EVgo (EVGO)
EVgo (NASDAQ:EVGO) Is arguably the best EV stock to consider in an industry that actually should inspire a lot of optimism currently.
Investors are well aware that the continued development of the electric vehicle market is predicated upon the continued build out of infrastructure. The problem is, investing in EV infrastructure stocks thus far has been very much hit or miss. Leading shares in the market including ChargePoint Holdings (NYSE:CHPT), have been at times very disappointing, with the company contracting on a top line basis in the most recent earnings period. Subsequently, the company undertook a capital raise that only served to further erode value in its shares.
EVgo is the antithesis of ChargePoint Holdings in many regards. The company’s top line grew by 234% in the third quarter. Meanwhile, its losses narrowed. ChargePoint Holdings certainly got out to an early lead in the EV infrastructure sector but EVgo is quickly making up ground due to its solid operations and continuously improving fundamentals.
Albemarle (ALB)
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had a very tough 2023 and is going to continue to face struggles in 2023. However, its stock is also going to remain muted for that fact. That alone is a reason to consider buying the stock in January.
Current projections state that lithium prices are unlikely to return to early 2023 levels until perhaps sometime in early 2025. Firms will need to continue to work through a surplus of lithium supply and thereafter prices could rise again.
Don’t be fooled, Albemarle isn’t declining despite its troubles. revenues increased by 10% in the third quarter. The problem is that the growth has been so high that 10% increases simply aren’t sufficient. That said, Albemarle remains a strong Choice overall.
The company has given guidance that it expects capacity to triple by 2027. It remains the largest lithium company globally. In short, for investors who believe that the current issues afflicting the EV industry are near cyclicality as the sector matures, Albemarle is a great choice over the midterm and beyond.
BYD (BYDDF)
BYD (OTCMKTS:BYDDF) continues to be a relatively unheralded EV stock for American investors. Its ticker -BYDDF – includes five letters denoting that it trades over the counter. It is simply lesser known than Nio (NYSE:NIO) and XPeng (NYSE:XPEV) which trade on major U.S. indexes.
Yet BYD sells more vehicles than either of those companies. In fact, the company currently sells more electric vehicles than any other firm, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) included.
What’s also interesting to note is that China may have overtaken Japan as the world’s largest passenger car exporter in 2023 according to that article linked above.
Tesla’s Model Y and model 3 vehicles were the largest global sellers through August of 2023. BYD vehicles took the number three and four spots on that list. Importantly, the company benefits from very strong demand due to the low prices of its vehicles. Its vehicles continue to see high demand in emerging markets but BYD is effectively prohibited from selling in the U.S. due to tariff rates above 25%.
The fact that BYD has eclipsed Tesla to become the number one selling EV manufacturer despite being effectively barred from one of the world’s largest EV markets speaks volumes about it as an investment.
On the date of publication, Alex Sirois 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.