The electric vehicle revolution is gathering steam, and while automakers may be an obvious way to play the boom, the broader supply chain could also offer opportunities to investors. These companies span battery manufacturers, chemical firms and tech, as increased electrification and automation boosts the electronic content per vehicle. The Global X Autonomous and Electric Vehicles ETF is one of a number of ETFs that offer a way to invest in a basket of stocks across the supply chain. A quarter of the 75 component stocks are tech names, with materials and industrial stocks, as well as auto stocks, making up the rest. To identify the stocks that analysts are most bullish on, CNBC Pro screened the ETF on FactSet for stocks that are buy-rated by the majority of analysts covering them. Analysts also gave these stocks average potential upside of at least 20% over the next 12 months. Upside potential of 122% Beyond a host of automakers that turned up on the screen — including Tesla, General Motors, Volkswagen, Stellantis and Hyundai — one alternative stock stood out. This was hydrogen fuel cell maker Plug Power, whose analysts gave a whopping average potential upside of 122%, according to FactSet. The company said its standard 18,000-gallon liquid hydrogen tank has the capacity to fully charge more than 1,000 EVs, adding to the grid-based EV charging facilities currently in the market. Lithium, Big Tech and more Two lithium stocks — Piedmont Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium — appear on the list too. EVs are largely powered by lithium-ion batteries, making the metal key to the transition away from the combustion engine. Prices for the metal have been on a tear this year as supply struggles to keep pace with soaring demand. Several Big Tech stocks in the EV supply chain are also well-liked by analysts, including Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft. Apple is making a push into the auto industry, having announced the next generation of its car software CarPlay in June. Analysts such as the likes of Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jones believe that Apple will eventually roll out its own car, with Jones calling the endeavor a “game changer” for the industry. On Tuesday, meanwhile, Google announced it was partnering with French automaker Renault to develop a “software defined” car by leveraging the former’s “expertise in the cloud, AI [artificial intelligence]and Android.” Microsoft has existing partnerships with General Motors and the automaker’s majority-owned autonomous car unit Cruise, which aims to accelerate the commercialization of self-driving vehicles. The tech giant has also partnered with Chinese automaker Xpeng to provide its Azure AI -powered voice to Xpeng’s fleet of vehicles.
