Electric Vehicle Stocks: 10 Biggest Companies in 2024

Market cap: US$584.69 billion; current share price: US$183.59

First on the list is of course EV maker Tesla, which has brought significant attention to the EV narrative. The company's story starts in 2003, when it was founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Elon Musk invested in the company in 2004, becoming the largest shareholder, and eventually became its CEO in 2008.

A well-known story for battery metals investors, the company made headlines in 2014 when it broke ground at its first gigafactory in Nevada ― an unthinkable proposition at the time. In partnership with Panasonic (TSE:6752,OTC Pink:PCRFF), the manufacturing facility has produced batteries with nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) cathodes — different from most of Tesla’s competitors, which use a nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) mix.

More recently, Tesla has opened a gigafactory in China, where it joined forces with China’s largest battery maker, CATL (SZSE:300750), to develop batteries for its Model 3. South Korea's LG Energy Solutions (KRX:373220) is also working on supplying Tesla with batteries using nickel-manganese-cobalt-aluminum (NMCA) cathodes.

Tesla said in 2021 that it was changing the battery chemistry for its standard-range vehicles to lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cathodes, which are cobalt- and nickel-free.

Tesla's prime EV position has taken a hit in the early months of 2024 on disappointing Q4 2023 revenue and a higher-for-longer inflation outlook. However, the company is still the largest EV maker by market cap by far.

Market cap: US$29.82 billion; current share price: US$29.76

Li Auto bills itself as a pioneer in successfully commercializing extended-range EVs in China, and is a leader in China's full-size and large SUV markets. The company started volume production of its first model, Li ONE, in November 2019, and launched its initial public offering in July 2020, raising US$1.1 billion.

One of the main differences between Li Auto and the other companies on this list is that Li Auto's models allow battery pack charging with electricity or gas. Li Auto calls this design extended-range EV technology. By 2025, the company wants its lineup to include one flagship model, five extended-range electric models and five high-voltage pure electric models.

Li Auto has battery supply agreements with CATL, and announced in February 2023 that it had been selected to work with Sunwoda Electronic (SZSE:300207) and Svolt Energy Technology.

In 2023, the company surpassed its 300,000 unit sales target to customers in Mainland China for the year by 76,030 additional EVs, representing a 182 percent year-on-year increase.

Market cap: US$14.63 billion; current share price: US$15.27

Founded in 2009, Rivian designs, develops and manufactures category-defining EVs and accessories and sells them directly to customers in the consumer and commercial markets.

Rivian, which is majority owned by Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and is also backed by Ford (NYSE:F), went public in 2021. The carmaker announced plans to use cells made with LFP chemistries for its standard-level vehicles in 2022, and in 2023 announced it plans to switch its entire lineup to this type of battery. South Korea’s Samsung SDI (KRX:006400) is Rivian’s current battery supplier, but the company has plans to build its own battery cells in the future.

For 2023, Rivian's EV production came in at 50,000 vehicles. While that's about double the previous year’s production, the figure was below many analysts' expectations of around 60,000.

Market cap: US$11.97 billion; current share price: US$5.13

VinFast Auto, Vietnam's first global automotive manufacturer, is a multinational EV manufacturer producing both affordable and luxury EVs. The company even has an electric pickup truck in the works, known as the VF Wild.

VinFast Auto is working to expand its reach into key markets in North America and Asia. It has various showrooms and service centers in North America, including in the Canadian provinces of Ontario, BC and Quebec, and in the US states of North Carolina, New York, Texas and Kansas. Later this year, the company plans to open an EV business network in the Philippines. In addition to those efforts, VinFast is building a US$2 billion EV manufacturing complex in North Carolina and has plans to build more factories in Indonesia and India.

Like many of its peers, VinFast Auto experienced decreased EV deliveries in 2023. Vehicle deliveries did pick up in Q4, however, “amid economic headwinds, slow EV adoption rate in certain regions has adversely affected the deliveries plan,” said Tran Mai Hoa, deputy CEO of sales and marketing at VinFast Global.

Market cap: US$8.94 billion; current share price: US$5.69

Founded in 2014, Chinese EV maker Nio designs, jointly manufactures and sells smart and connected premium EVs.

Nio’s strategy includes its battery-as-a-service endeavor, a subscription purchasing model where buyers lease vehicle batteries. The company says the idea behind this move is to reduce vehicle costs. The service is run by a battery asset company, with Nio and leading battery maker CATL owning a stake. CATL is already Nio’s sole battery supplier.

In September 2021, the company introduced a standard-range hybrid-cell battery that combines NCM and LFP cells. Looking ahead, the carmaker is said to have plans to use a combination of self-produced and externally sourced batteries in the long run. Nio is also gearing up to offer the world’s longest-range solid-state battery on a rental basis.

This year, the company is planning to launch a more affordable EV brand known as Alps, with the first of three new models designed to compete against Tesla's Model Y.

Market cap: US$7.75 billion; current share price: US$8.54

Another Chinese EV maker focused on the smart EV market, Xpeng’s main manufacturing plant is in Guangdong province.

CATL used to be XPeng’s primary battery supplier, but the carmaker has diversified its battery suppliers. The carmaker has chosen to work with Sunwoda, a smaller Chinese battery maker, to develop a fast-charging battery for the G9. XPeng also counts CALB (HKEX:3931) and EVE Energy (SZSE:300014) as battery suppliers. Early in 2021, XPeng launched three new vehicle versions powered by LFP batteries for the Chinese market. Its long-range versions use NCM batteries.

Early this year at the El Prix 2024 Motor EV Winter Test, XPeng's G9 achieved the top spot in charging time and fifth in the range test, demonstrating its strong performance in cold winter weather conditions.

Market cap: US$7.601 billion; current share price: US$3.32

Headquartered in California, Lucid was founded in 2007 and produces luxury electric cars. The company's first car, Lucid Air, is a state-of-the-art luxury sedan that is being produced at its factory in Casa Grande, Arizona.

Lucid will use Panasonic batteries in its long-range Lucid Air and its Gravity SUV, which will begin production in 2024, although details of the chemistry used are yet to be known. Previously, Lucid had an agreement with LG Chem (OTC Pink:LGCLF,KRX:003550), which supplied cylindrical batteries for the US EV maker's standard Lucid Air models starting in the second half of 2020 and extending until 2023.

Lucid’s sales slipped in 2023, with only 4,369 sales out of 7,800 units built as EV sales slowed globally. In response, this year the company is cutting prices by 6 to 9 percent for three trims: Air Pure, Air Touring and Grand Touring.

Market cap: US$3.67 billion; current share price: US$1.66

Sweden-based electric performance car brand Polestar is owned by Volvo Cars and Zhejiang Geely Holding (OTC Pink:GELYF,HKEX:0175). However, earlier this year, Volvo announced that it will soon hand Polestar entirely over to Geely to operate as an independent brand. The move is attributed to slowing global demand for EVs.

Polestar had a rough year in 2023, including software challenges that caused delays in the rollout of the Polestar 3. Despite a sales goal of 80,000 units of its Polestar 2 for 2023, the total at the end of year fell short at 54,600 units.

Now that it must compete in a tighter market, Polestar has joined the ranks of those EV makers offering discounted prices, including on the 2024 Polestar 2 rear-wheel and all-wheel-drive models.

Market cap: US$1.91 billion; current share price: US$6.69

Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), NWTN is focused on providing solutions for green energy and transportation. The company’s smart EVs are integrated with internet of things connectivity, as well as artificial intelligence and autonomous driving technology. NWTN is the first UAE-based EV company to be listed on the Nasdaq.

NWTN’s first new energy vehicle, the Rabdan One, carries the official “Made in the Emirates” designation. Last year, the company launched the Rabdan Muse, a luxury smart passenger vehicle model, in Pebble Beach, California. The vehicles are built on NWTN’s Gravity Zero Platform, which “reduces vehicle material costs via scales of volume, shortens vehicle development time by up to 50 (percent), reduces vehicle development cost by up to 75 (percent) and enhances vehicle product quality considerably for all derived vehicles from the platforms."