2 EV focused stocks to buy as global automakers step up electric plans

Highlights

• Ford announced its plans to invest about £230 million at Halewood on Merseyside, UK to make EV components
• Stellantis reported an agreement with battery maker LG Energy Solution to make batteries.

There has been a flurry of electric vehicles (EV) related announcements from global auto manufacturers on Monday, as global EV sales have skyrocketed, and governments are increasingly supporting automakers to become lower carbon-emitting vehicles.

Legacy auto manufacturer Ford said it is planning to invest about £230 million at Halewood on Merseyside in the UK to convert it to an EV parts site instead.

Halewood is expected to be Ford’s first in house assembly site for EV parts in Europe. Production at the site is expected to start in 2024. The move is part of Ford’s plans to be all-electric by 2030.

Meanwhile, in other development, Stellantis NV, which was formed this year with the merger of Italian American carmaker Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group, stated it had signed an agreement with battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution to make battery cells for the North American region. Stellantis expects 40 per cent of its sales in the US to come from EVs by 2030.

2 EV focused stocks to buy as global automakers step up electric plans

This news comes after auto giant Daimler acquired a 33 per cent stake in battery cell maker Automotive Cells Company (ACC). ACC was founded last year by Stellantis and French oil and gas firm TotalEnergies.                   

Global carmakers are racing to be the next leader in EVs as competition in the car industry has increased from newer entrants. Several startups have also cropped up recently, with the hopes of wanting to compete with EV giant Tesla (LON: 0R0X).

In view of this, let us take a look at 2 FTSE listed stocks focused on the EV space and how they have performed:

1. Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC (LON: AML) 

FTSE 250 index listed company Aston Martin is a British luxury car maker. It plans to launch its first pure electric sports car model, not before 2026.

It had earlier reported its H1 2021 total wholesale volume rise of 224 per cent to £2,901 million, up from £895 million in H1 2020. The company is likely to announce its interim result on 4 November.

Aston Martin’s shares were trading at GBX 1,753.00, down by 3.58 per cent on 18 October 2021 at 14:43 hrs BST. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 index was at 22,939.85, down by 0.19 per cent.

The group’s market cap was £2,112.69 million, and its one-year return stood at 77.71 per cent as of 18 October 2021.

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2. BP PLC (LON: BP)

FTSE 100 index listed firm BP is an oil and gas giant. The group has undertaken several initiatives and investments in the renewable energy and electric vehicle sector as part of its commitment to become net zero.

London based BP Ventures, BP’s corporate venture arm, had recently made its first direct investment in India by investing US$ 13 million into BluSmart, an EV ride-hailing and charging firm.

BP had led a US$ 25 million Series A funding round for the EV startup. The capital raising round’s other investors included venture capital firms Mayfield India Fund, 9Unicorns and Survam Partners, amongst others.

BP’s shares were trading at GBX 363.45, down by 0.04 per cent on 18 October 2021 at 15:02 hrs BST. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 index was at 7,191.91, down by 0.58 per cent.

The group’s market cap was £72,669.52 million, and its one-year return stood at 73.30 per cent as of 18 October 2021.