3 Electrifying Stocks to Charge Up Your Portfolio

vraju|March 14, 2022

Thanks to Elon Musk, lithium-ion batteries are hot right now. They’re the “it” tech in green transportation.

The lithium-ion batteries that power most electric vehicles (EVs) can store vast amounts of electrical energy. They can be charged in less than 30 minutes under the right conditions. If damaged, they can be swapped in and out of vehicles with ease.

And the next battery innovation is right around the corner…

Solid-state batteries will be hitting the market in the next few years. They’re lighter and safer than current-generation batteries. They can also be recharged in as little as 15 minutes and can go much farther on a single charge.

The motors they power are incredible too. They give all their torque immediately and can produce staggering amounts of power.

Most major automakers have some green vehicles in the pipeline. Some smaller manufacturers like Jaguar are moving even faster, aiming to be fully electric as soon as 2025.

They’ll need these models to survive the change.

These companies have more resources and expertise than Musk’s Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA). They can mass-produce EVs on a scale Tesla can’t even come close to. One of them is even taking aim at Tesla’s battery business.

It’s a brave new world in the auto industry. The future is here, but who will be the winners and who will be the losers?

Most people don’t have the money for a Tesla… let alone a million-dollar supercar. Enter Volkswagen (OTC: VWAGY) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) – two leaders in the development of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) for the masses…

The People’s (Electric) Car

Volkswagen is staying true to its name – the “people’s car.” The company wants to make “electric cars for millions, not millionaires.”

The Wolfsburg, Germany-based company already makes one of the most affordable electric cars on the market – the ID.3.

Right now, the electric hatchback is available only in Europe, but it’s quickly emerging as a major contender in a market that bought 500,000 EVs in 2020.

The company’s EV sales in Europe – Volkswagen’s home turf – leapt by 158% in 2020. In the first year of production, the ID.3 saw more than 56,500 units sold. The e-Golf, an electric version of Volkswagen’s Golf hatchback, sold 41,300 units.

The ID.3 follows the same formula that turned Volkswagen into one of the world’s largest auto manufacturers. It’s an affordable, practical family hatchback that’s fun to drive. If you factor in tax breaks and grants, an ID.3 in the U.K. costs 28,670 pounds, or $39,813.

The cheapest comparable Tesla Model 3 will set a British buyer back 40,490 pounds, or $56,227. Factor in the ID.3’s 263-mile range and Volkswagen’s dealership network and infrastructure… and it’s a no-brainer for European buyers.

But the ID.3 is just the start. Volkswagen has global plans for the modular EV platform the ID.3 is built on. Up next is the ID.4, a larger SUV designed to compete with the likes of the Tesla Model X and Model Y.

It’s due to go on sale in Europe this spring and come to the United States in 2022. If it undercuts the Tesla competition while delivering comparable range, like its hatchback sibling does, then it could be the first Tesla-beating EV in the U.S. market.

Cars built on Volkswagen’s new MEB chassis will share many components, making parts cheap and readily available.

Volkswagen hopes this will get smaller companies to produce BEVs and make them more common. Ford is one of the first non-Volkswagen auto group companies to express an interest in the platform.

Volkswagen even has a plan to expand charging infrastructure in Germany and around the world, much like Tesla has done. It also plans to recycle the batteries it issues.

The company is throwing haymakers at Tesla. Given Volkswagen’s material and monetary advantages, many of them should land.

With its vast infrastructure and expertise, Volkswagen has every advantage over Tesla. It’s shaping up to be a sturdy trans-Atlantic rival.

Volkswagen is already one of Germany’s most profitable and famous companies. Its bottom line alone makes it an attractive addition to your portfolio.

In 2020, it brought in more than $219 billion in revenue and $4.4 billion in net income. It pays a dividend and currently yields 1.66%.

Volkswagen’s revenue is expected to exceed $300 billion by the end of the decade, and its net income is expected to come in at $13.8 billion by 2024.

Action to Take: Buy Volkswagen (OTC: VWAGY) at market.

The Green Model T

Now, all that German engineering is great, but what if you want electrified American steel right from Motor City?

Ford has always been a pioneer in the auto industry. It’s America’s oldest surviving independent automaker and, arguably, its most iconic. Since it was founded in the early 1900s, its engineers have never failed to impress…

Ford’s Model T was the first car for the masses. The methods used in its production revolutionized industry.

The Model B did the impossible and made the V-8 engine affordable.

Ford’s iconic Mustang kicked off the pony-car craze of the 1960s. That same decade, Ford managed to score an unprecedented victory over Ferrari at Le Mans.

More recently, the Taurus became one of the sole American competitors to Asian economy car bestsellers like the Corolla, Civic and Camry.

Henry Ford’s world-beating company remains a strong force in American business. Ford cars and trucks are as American as baseball and apple pie, and its bottom line shows it.

In 2020, despite a global pandemic, Ford brought in $111.5 billion in revenue and $379.8 million in net income.

Both figures are expected to grow throughout the 2020s, hitting $136.8 billion in revenue and $5.1 billion in net income by 2029.

Ford’s decision in 2020 to cease production of most of its passenger cars raised some eyebrows. Now it’s making only trucks and SUVs – the Fusion sedan and iconic Mustang will be Ford’s only passenger cars for now.

The decision was motivated by Ford’s desire to adopt BEVs. The bottom line is that Ford lacks Volkswagen’s resources. It’s far from the world’s largest automaker. Cutting the passenger car production lines freed up cash for research and development.

The company put that money into an electric crossover SUV modeled on its venerable Mustang. Ford has named it the Mustang Mach-E. It’s launching this year, and when it does, it should dominate the EV headlines.

Because, based on what we already know, it’s impressive.

Its GT trim will make 480 horsepower and 600-plus pound feet of torque, which will send it from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds… all while managing to achieve a 300-mile range.

Before tax incentives, the GT will have an asking price of around $60,500 ($53,000 with incentives). The base version will be a much more affordable $42,895, or $35,395 with incentives. With that range of trims, the Mach-E will be able to compete with both Tesla and Volkswagen in terms of performance and affordability.

Early reviews of the car have been very favorable. It won the North American 2021 Utility Vehicle of the Year award.

The Blue Oval’s EV plans are only a little less ambitious than its German competitor’s. Ford wants to roll out electric versions of both its F-Series pickup truck and Transit van by 2022. Both are perennial workhorses of the American economy, and the electrified versions should be no different.

If anyone can make EVs both affordable and attractive, it’s Ford. The day Ford will really change minds is when an electric Mustang is faster than the V-8 version.

Given how quick BEVs are already, we don’t think that’s too far off.

Action to Take: Buy Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) at market.

Atomic No. 3

As we already know, this technology would be nothing without lithium…

The marvelous mineral is the basis for the super powerful batteries used by modern EVs.

The lithium industry used to be dominated by three companies, but they can’t keep up with demand.

For the first time in years, there’s a new company in the lithium market. Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE: LAC) was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018. Its main project is a 50-50 joint venture in Argentina called Cauchari-Olaroz.

Lithium Americas has also secured credit from Chinese giant Ganfeng Lithium. Thai energy company Bangchak Corp. has also gotten in on the project. Together they’ve poured $205 million into Lithium Americas.

Cauchari-Olaroz is set to finish construction this year. Once it does, Lithium Americas expects it will be able to produce 40,000 tons of battery-grade lithium every year for the next 40 years.

But Cauchari-Olaroz isn’t Lithium Americas’ only project…

It recently started work on a project in Thacker Pass, Nevada, that it owns in its entirety. Feasibility studies are underway, but early estimates show that as much as 6 million tons of lithium are ripe for the taking.

Lithium prices went on a steady decline for the past couple of years but sharply rebounded early this year. From January to mid-February, prices shot up by 45%. Lithium Americas is a small fish in a big pond of lithium miners, but it’s making all the right moves.

It was listed on a major exchange just a couple of years ago, and 2020 was its first revenue-producing year. Bloomberg projects it will bring in $3.6 million.

It isn’t much, but it’s a start. And Lithium Americas punches well above its weight class in the industry. By 2028, revenue is expected to exceed $431.4 million.

Now is the time to get in – the buy-in is still fairly low. With battery power looking like the way of the future, Lithium Americas has tons of growth potential.

Action to Take: Buy Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE: LAC) at market.

Bonus: Green Monster

Even as the auto industry changes, some things stay the same.

For example, people like to go fast – really fast.

That’s where Croatian startup Rimac Automobili comes in. The company produces electric cars, batteries and drivetrains. It also has an electric bike division.

Founded in 2009 by Mate Rimac, the company wants to take the electric car to the limits of its technology. The test bed for its technology is an old BMW M3 that the founder converted to a BEV himself.

Rimac’s first production model, dubbed Concept One, came out in 2013. Only 10 were made. It can go from zero to 60 in 2.5 seconds thanks to four independent electric motors. The car will keep accelerating nonstop up to 211 miles per hour.

Despite its absurd speed and more than 1,200 horsepower, it can still go 210 miles on a single charge. Rimac’s proprietary batteries and drivetrain have since found their way into other speed machines like Jaguar, Aston Martin and Koenigsegg.

At Geneva in 2018, Rimac went all-out and produced an even more ludicrous machine – the C_Two.

Its four independent motors make a combined 1,888 horsepower. They accelerate the car from zero to 60 mph in 1.85 seconds, and the car has a top speed of 256 miles per hour. Even better, it can manage 341 miles per charge.

While Volkswagen and Ford are focused on making their technology affordable, Rimac wants to push the technical limits of what the BEV can do.

Rimac’s technology is the bleeding edge of BEVs. It’ll blow the doors off the fastest supercars in the world. And that technology will find its way into the next generation of electric cars.

Even better, Rimac will give electric cars that much-needed “cool factor.” Teslas are cool… but most BEVs, Teslas included, look a little weird. Rimac cars look amazing, go fast and have enough technology to make nerds drool.

The company has also attracted some big investors. China Dynamics and Porsche have both invested in Rimac.

And the investment from Porsche might not be the end of Rimac’s dealings with Volkswagen…

Late in 2020, there were rumors of Volkswagen selling the ultra-luxury supercar brand Bugatti to Rimac. If those rumors are true, it would give Rimac additional resources and expertise, as well as an internationally recognized brand.

The little Croatian startup is currently private, but keep an eye on it. It could be the next Ferrari.

It’s Electric

EVs are the future. That much is clear.

Elon Musk started the BEV craze with his Tesla cars. He has not only has made BEVs popular but also forced the auto industry to start moving in a greener direction.

Whether Ford, Volkswagen, Tesla or another company wins out, forward-thinking investors will walk away happy.

Good investing,

Profit Trends Research Team