When we talk about the Electric Vehicle or the EV stock market, what’s the first thing that pops into your mind? Tesla Inc (TSLA) might be the company that comes to your mind if you have kept up with the mainstream trends around EV. That’s because we have heard about Tesla as the world leader and pioneer of the electric vehicle market.

And we have heard about Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, who launched the TESLA Roadster into space as one of the most phenomenal marketing tactics ever. And if you have heard of Tesla, chances are, you have heard about the Chinese EV company NIO that is fiercely competing and trying to emerge as an EV leader in China.

However, if you are looking to invest in the EV market, you need to take few steps back from what the mainstream topics and trends are telling you. According to a new market research report, the EV market is growing and is only in the nascent stage despite being a $1656.9 billion worth global market. The EV market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 33.6% from 2020 to $2495.4 billion in 2027.

Before we dive into the top EV stocks you can invest in let’s take a look at what is driving the growth of these EV stocks.

Researching the few fundamentals and variables driving this growth in the EV market can help us a long way in deciding how and which EV stock we should invest in.

So the main phenomenon that is driving the Electric Vehicle market includes the global drive towards green energy and sustainable zero emissions. Governments and world leaders are creating favorable policies and regulations regarding EV adoption. The free market has played a role in reducing the cost of sourcing batteries. The OEMs are investing heavily to create a profitable business in the EV landscape.

However, there are some caveats to this growth. The scalability and standardization of the EV market are fragmented in countries and regions of the developed part of the world. The development of EV infrastructure and favorable economic conditions are yet to be globalized. Furthermore, there are very different EV portfolios in the EV stock market based on the electric vehicle and propulsion type of the EV.

Ford Motor Company (F)

So let us begin now with the EV stocks! The first on our list is Ford Motor Company (F). We have chosen Ford because of its legendary reputation in the car industry and its shift towards Electric Vehicles. With a market of $58.6 billion, Ford has a diverse and robust strategy for the electrification of its automotive operations. The company’s recent Ford+ (plus) plans expect to generate almost half of its global sales through EV by 2030.

Furthermore, the company aims to invest more than $30 billion through 2025. One other primary reason that makes Ford’s EV portfolio more attractive is that the company has revealed its three most iconic EV products, which include the elite sports and passenger vehicle- The Mustang Mach E, all-electric and available in the market. Then comes the F-150 Lightning series, which is an all-electric pickup truck. This vehicle caters to the class B vehicle segment. And third is E-transit, an all-electric van that caters to the fleet performance requirement and light commercial vehicle segment.

This diverse portfolio, along with the Ford company’s scalability power, will allow it to carry its powerful ICE automotive reputation while switching its profitability through the EV market.

NIU Technologies (NIU)

The second stock on our list is known as NIU Technologies (NIU). It has a market cap of $2.454 Billion and has seen impressive growth for the past two years. The company, since its inception, had grown in value by roughly 250% since its IPO in October 2018. We chose NIU stock for our pick in the top growing EVs because it picks up a certain niche in the large addressable market of EVs. This niche corresponds to the manufacturing of electric smart scooters and pedal bikes and is a less crowded market with many potentials. NIU caters explicitly to this niche demand in one of the largest growing EV markets: China.

NIU generated sales of around $85.6 million in the first quarter, which is a 135% year-over-year growth. Despite the dip in the EV market in May, NIU also lost 10.8% of its stock value, and it still sold 149,649 electric scooters in Q1. Out of which 97% of the sales came from the Chinese market. NIU stock has a compound annual growth rate of 7.7% for the next decade, and despite the growing competition, it is still expanding to the rest of the Chinese market.

Hyliion Holdings Corporation (HYLN)

Third, on our list is an eccentric EV stock called Hyliion Holdings Corporation (HYLN). It is a $1.964 billion company run by a 28-year-old CEO known as Thomas Healy. Last year, the company went public through a SPAC deal with Tortoise, and since then, it had seen volatility in price during 2020, fluctuating from $10 to $50 and back to $10. However, we chose HYLN stock because this company caters to the deficiencies and limitations in the EV market that we talked about. The charging station and ports availability limitation makes it hard for EV vehicles to sustain their range, especially for Heavy-Duty trucks or Class 8 trucks.

Thomas Healy has taken a page from Elon Musk’s book and has turned this limitation into an opportunity for innovation and drive towards a niche. This niche specifically caters to the needs of the 8th Class trucks by transforming them into what Hyliion calls Electrified Powertrains.

Electrified Powertrains is the concept where Hybrid energy engines power class 8 trucks; they are electric engines that also have backup natural or hydrogen gas generators for creating electricity. Its EV battery next-generation module with quicker recharging and 40% more effective battery cooling technology reflects growth and innovation in its Hypertruck ERX production line. Hyliion took this approach to bridge the gap between the lack of electric recharging availability and heavy-duty trucks’ long-range requirements.

With 700 natural gas stations all over America, according to Hyliion, this is a better approach than consuming gasoline and more efficient than having full electric trucks with no range. According to the company, the niche has a total addressable market of $800 billion and 8 million trucks.

For the year 2021 and beyond, there are bullish signals for the EV market. Hyliion will continue to flourish in this underdeveloped niche market as long as EV charge and range limitation exists. The company’s estimation of revenue growth from $8 million in 2021 to more than $2 billion in 2024 does not look far-fetched from this point of view.

NIO Inc (NIO)

Fourth on our list is NIO Inc (NIO). The market value of the company is 83.410 Billion. Yes, we did mention NIO stock as a mainstream stock initially, but the growth of this EV company is uniquely undeniable and is stealing Tesla’s thunder. Analysts, bureaucrats, and even Elon Musk admitted that China is expected to be the biggest market for Tesla, with 41% of China’s global EV market share. However, the recent US-China relations have deteriorated.

The rug has been pulled from under Tesla as China has recently implemented bans on government authorities having ownership of Tesla and banned Tesla vehicles from government compounds and agencies. This leaves the Chinese market all for NIO to grab since no one takes the throne second in China.

Moreover, the company is entering the Norwegian Market as well; thus, now expanding and growing far beyond its border. The sales of the Chinese EV champion have leaped over 95% year over year and have forecasted 21000-22000 EV car deliveries from the current quarter. Apart from the general trend and sentiment of the EV market’s growth, NIO enjoys an edge for the market share capacity and space given due to these geopolitical tensions. Bloomberg NEF believes that EV sales are expected to grow from 1.7 million in 2020 to 54 million in 2040, in which China would represent sales share accounting 18 million.

Global X Autonomous & Electric Vehicles ETF (DRIV)

The final EV pick on our list is an ETF known as Global X Autonomous & Electric Vehicles ETF (DRIV). This ETF was picked by us majorly for investors out there that want to dive into the EV stocks but don’t know where to start. This $900 million market cap of DRIV ETF gives a diversified exposure to investors in the EV market. It has a total deep portfolio of 76 stocks and has an expense ratio of approximately 0.68%.

DRIV does not only consist of pure Electric Vehicle play but consists of the overall plug-in car play. Plug-ins mean that it includes Autonomous Vehicles, Hydrogen Fuel Cars, Hybrids; therefore, it depends on the EV fuel propulsion and reduces the volatility and limitation of the EV pure-play investment and market. The Price to Equity ratio shows a very reduced premium compared to the over 900% increased share prices of Tesla and NIO. DRIV has shown a CAGRof 23.76% since its initiation.