Previously I wrote about 3 stocks that were already thriving under President Biden even though he has yet to officially take office. Not surprisingly, two of those companies were electric vehicle makers as the sector continues to stay red-hot as we move into 2021. I wrote about how President Bident and the Democrats are all in on clean energy and shifting the focus of the American automotive industry to electric vehicles for the future. But with so many of these companies having already surged throughout 2020, investors may be feeling that there is minimal growth left for these stocks in 2021. But the actual vehicle makers are not the only way to play this industry. Electric vehicles need infrastructure, technology, and new parts that will establish an entirely new industry of automotive companies. Here are three ways to play the electric vehicle craze, without actually investing in electric vehicles.
Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG): Hydrogen fuel cells are one of the technologies that are going to be around for a long time and here is why: it is a clean, emission-free energy source that is becoming cheaper to convert every year. And every year it gets cheaper, Plug’s stock goes higher. In 2020, shares of Plug surged from $3 to $47, and so far in 2021, the stock is up a mind-blowing 63% after it was announced that Korea energy giant SK Group bought a 10% stake in Plug for $1.5 billion. Like the United States, Korea has a target for building six million fuel cell vehicles and over 1200 refilling stations by 2040. Guess who is going to help make that happen? Plug.
QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS): A relatively new company to the public markets, QuantumScape debuted via a SPAC IPO at the end of November in 2020 and since then investors have been on a roller coaster ride. From battery performance demos to a miscommunication about a further public share offering, QuantumScape investors have sky-rocked and plummeted at breakneck speed. The one constant is the potentially game changing technology of its solid-state batteries that are said to charge much faster, hold more charge resulting in a much longer range, as well as holding its charge capacity over its lifetime. The company has said that it will be ready to begin production in 2024, so you still have three years to buy in and enjoy the ride. Oh by the way, it’s two biggest backers are Bill Gates and Volkswagen so I think that speaks for itself.
Luminar Technologies (NASDAQ:LAZR): Luminar is another brand new stock debuting in December of 2020, but it has already picked up quite the following on FinTwit and other investing platforms. The Orlando, Florida-based company is in the lidar industry and for those who don’t know, lidar stands for ‘Light Detection and Ranging’. What this means is that by using laser lights to remotely detect and accurately measure ranges. So what does this have to do with cars? Well, one of the potential uses is for autonomous and self-driving cars as these vehicles need lidar sensors in order to maintain course without crashing into everything they drive by. You know who is making self-driving cars? Let’s start with Tesla and Apple. The lidar industry is really only in its infancy in terms of electric vehicles, so savvy investors should look at this as a chance to get in on the ground floor of a sector that could sky-rocket over the next few years.
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