The Race for America’s EV Market — and How to Profit

Sales of electric vehicles have been sluggish this summer, but car companies see the writing on the wall. 

They are the future. 

In fact, the latest Ernst & Young Mobility Consumer Index (MCI) — a global survey of more than 15,000 consumers from 20 countries — showed that U.S. consumer interest in EVs is at an all-time high.

Roughly half (48%) of U.S. car buyers intend to purchase a hybrid or fully electric vehicle in the next 24 months — a 19% increase from the 2022 MCI data.

And interestingly enough, the number of car buyers interested in a fully electric vehicle are responsible for most of that increase as the favorability on that metric jumped from 7% to 22% — a threefold increase.

Furthermore, people who already own electric vehicles seem rather happy with them.

Indeed, an overwhelming majority of EV owners (81%) are likely to consider repurchasing an EV again compared with 42% of traditional vehicle owners who are having second thoughts.

This is why automakers continue to forge ahead with new EV models and broker backdoor deals with Elon Musk. 

To wit, Toyota recently revealed that it’s releasing several new hybrid and all-electric offerings to its newest lineup. 

That includes the bZ4X electric compact crossover, an electric alternative to its Highlander and Grand Highlander SUVs, and a new unnamed electric sedan. 

Meanwhile, Subaru is doubling its EV offerings from four to eight. 

The company has also staked out the ambitious goals of getting half its global sales (about 600,000 units) from fully electric vehicles by 2030 and selling about 400,000 battery-powered cars in the United States by 2028.

That won’t be easy considering just how competitive the EV market is now in the United States.

Of course, it’s going to be even harder for Chinese companies to break in, but that’s not stopping them from trying.

With the central government's backing, Chinese automakers have worked hard to establish themselves with advanced, affordable EV models.

That’s made China the world’s largest EV market, and now its homegrown auto companies are branching out.

Last year, China overtook Germany as the world’s second-largest auto exporter. And this year, it’s expected to overtake Japan for the top spot. 

The inroads can already be seen in Europe where Chinese EV sales could reach 1.5 million vehicles — about 13.5% of the current EU market — by 2030, according to Allianz.

Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Peugeot-to-Fiat carmaker Stellantis, even called it an “invasion,” and an "extremely brutal" one at that.

"Their cost competitiveness is 25% against us,” he said. “We have to fight." 

Still, the U.S. auto market remains the Holy Grail of car markets, and it’s going to be a tough one for China to crack given the cultural friction between our two countries. 

Unlike Europe, U.S. auto manufacturers are protected by high tariffs and strong incentives for domestic production and sourcing.

However, some China-built cars are already being sold by Western brands, like the Buick Envision, Polestar 2 and the Lincoln Nautilus, in the United States.

Nevertheless, if investors want to profit from this trend, they don’t have to choose any auto manufacturer in particular.

To the contrary, trying to call this race and predict who’s going to come out ahead is a fool’s errand.

Instead, investors should look to profit from a little-known program that lets investors draw income from EV charging stations.

It’s called “Plug-in Payouts,” and it generated $563.3 million in income for investors last year.

Better still, that figure is poised to skyrocket as more and more EVs hit the road. 

If you want to get in on the action, you have to act fast, though.

This program won’t stay secret for long.

Get the details here now.

Fight on,

Jason Simpkins

@OCSimpkins on Twitter

Jason Simpkins is Assistant Managing Editor of the Outsider Club and Investment Director of Wall Street's Proving Ground, a financial advisory focused on security companies and defense contractors. For more on Jason, check out his editor's page. 

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