In 2023, electric vehicle (EV) sales are expected to make up about 9% of auto sales, according to Atlas Public Policy, as noted by the Associated Press. That’s up from 7.3% in 2022. It’ll be the first time more than a million EVs have been sold in the country in a single year. In China, EVs made up about 33% of 2023 sales. In Germany, 35%. Norway saw 90%. All these factors are a solid catalyst for EV charging stocks over the long term.
Unfortunately, there are still hurdles for greater adoption, one being the unreliability and inaccessibility of public charging stations. Even though Congress agreed to spend about $7.5 billion to build out thousands of stations, none have been set up yet, according to Politico.
“Consumer demand for electric vehicles is rising in the United States, necessitating six times as many chargers on its roads by the end of the decade, according to federal estimates. But not a single charger funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law has come online and odds are they will not be able to start powering Americans’ vehicles until at least 2024,” Climate Wire added.
If the Biden Administration is serious about having 50% of all new autos be electric, tens of thousands of charging stations are needed as of yesterday. That demand will eventually fuel upside for EV charging stocks.
EV Charging Stocks: EVgo (EVGO)
After diving from about $4 to less than $2, EVgo (NASDAQ:EVGO) is back to $3.37. From here, if it can break above resistance at current prices, it could test $4 again soon. Helping, the company’s revenues just soared 234% to $35 million. It also added 106,000 new customer accounts and had 785,000 accounts at the close of the quarter.
Better, it just partnered with Honda to provide EV drivers with access to “EVgo’s public fast charging network and an EVgo charging credit of up to $750 for drivers of Honda (NYSE:HMC) and Acura EV models,” as noted by Seeking Alpha.
“EVgo’s growth engine is humming, with excellent year-over-year growth in revenues, throughput and utilization,” added Cathy Zoi, EVgo’s CEO. “We continue to deliver for our partners and customers.”
ChargePoint (CHPT)
While ChargePoint’s (NYSE:CHPT) chart has been a disaster, don’t write it off.
In fact, at just $2 a share, I’d buy it, forget about it, and check back on it a couple of years from now. If the U.S. is serious about EV sales, it must build out a massive network of charging stations, including CHPT.
Granted, the company did preannounce that third-quarter revenues would fall in a range of $108 million to $113 million as compared to its previous estimate of $150 million to $165 million. It even blamed “overall macroeconomic conditions” for the shortfall. Higher interest rates hurt business, too. But it does appear most of the negativity has been priced into the stock. And eventually, when interest rates turn south, stocks like CHPT could turn north.
EV Charging Stocks: Allego (ALLG)
Allego (NYSE:ALLG) hasn’t fared much better. Since topping out around $3 in September, the ALLG stock is now down to $1.18. At the moment, the company has a massive network of about 35,000 charging stations in 16 countries, positioning it well for future EV charging station growth. It also has a strong backlog of 10,800 charging ports.
Once they’re operational, the company could easily see higher revenue growth, as noted by InvestorPlace contributor Vandita Jadeja.
Beam Global (BEEM)
There’s also Beam Global (NASDAQ:BEEM), whose chart has been just as ugly.
But don’t write this one off either — especially with its impressive earnings. In its third quarter, the company’s revenues were up 149% year-over-year (YoY) to $16.5 million. Year-to-date revenues were up 236% year over year to $47.3 million.
It also saw third-quarter EV ARC system deployments jump 295% YoY. The company is still debt-free, with an unused credit line of about $100 million. Better, its gross profit was $300,000, or 2% of sales as compared to a year-earlier loss of $300,000 — 5% of sales.
Plus, according to CEO Desmond Wheatley, “They say that ‘as goes California, so goes the rest of the country’ and we are certainly seeing that as our business grows across the U.S. with both government and commercial customers. Beam Global’s products are in hundreds of locations in 38 states already and we expect this momentum to continue to accelerate.”
Direxion Daily Electric and Autonomous Vehicle Bull 2x Shares (EVAV)
Or, if you want to diversify with top EV names at a low cost, consider the Direxion Daily Electric and Autonomous Vehicle Bull 2x Shares (NYSEARCA:EVAV).
With an expense ratio of 1%, the EVAV ETF invests in EV and autonomous vehicle stocks that derive at least 50% of their revenues from related activities. That includes companies creating technology for electric or autonomous vehicles, such as charging docks and batteries, as noted by Direxion.com.
Global X Autonomous & Electric Vehicles ETF (DRIV)
Or, take a look at the Global X Autonomous & Electric Vehicles ETF (NASDAQ:DRIV). With an expense ratio of 0.68%, the ETF invests in companies that produce EVs and related components.
After plunging from about $27.50 to a low of $20.62, the ETF is starting to push higher again. From a current price of $23.38, I’d like to see it initially retest prior resistance around $25. If it does, this will be one of the best EV charging stocks out there.
KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility Index ETF (KARS)
Or, check out the Krane Shares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility Index ETF (NYSEARCA:KARS). With an expense ratio of 0.72%, this ETF provides exposure to companies involved in the production of EVs and their components.
It’s also benchmarked to the Bloomberg Electric Vehicles Index, which includes stocks involved with EV “production, autonomous driving, shared mobility, lithium and/or copper production, lithium-ion/lead acid batteries, hydrogen fuel cell manufacturing and electric infrastructure businesses,” according to KraneShares.com.
On the date of publication, Ian Cooper did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.