Electric cars -- commonly known as electric vehicles or EVs -- are automobiles that rely on electricity stored in batteries for power instead of gas used in internal combustion engines. Electric car stocks comprise companies primarily focused on manufacturing electric cars. Companies that manufacture the components used in electric cars -- such as batteries or autonomous vehicle systems -- can also be considered part of the electric car industry.
While the ending of the federal tax credit for EVs, which provided up to $7,500 for new electric cars and $4,000 for used EVs, ended on Sept. 30, 2025, there's sufficient reason to believe that this bump in the road in the U.S. market will not result in the demise of consumer interest in EVs. According to a recent survey conducted by The Motley Fool, while 80% of respondents said they don't own a hybrid or electric vehicle, 57% of respondents affirmed that they were somewhat or very likely to make a hybrid or electric car or truck purchase for their next vehicle.
If you're interested in this industry, here are our favorite EV stocks to consider for your portfolio.
Top EV stocks to consider
| Name and ticker | Market cap | Dividend yield | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) | $1.4 trillion | 0.00% | Automobiles |
| Nio (NYSE:NIO) | $11.4 billion | 0.00% | Automobiles |
| Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) | $18.5 billion | 0.00% | Automobiles |
| General Motors (NYSE:GM) | $65.8 billion | 0.87% | Automobiles |
| BYD Company (OTC:BYDDY) | $143.1 billion | 1.42% | Automobiles |
| Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) | $14.1 billion | 0.00% | Automobiles |
| Volkswagen Ag (OTC:VWAGY) | $29.3 billion | 7.17% | Automobiles |
| Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) | $46.0 billion | 5.21% | Automobiles |
| Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID) | $3.3 billion | 0.00% | Automobiles |
| VinFast Auto Ltd. (NASDAQ:VFS) | $6.7 billion | 0.00% | Automobiles |
1. Tesla: An industry leader
NASDAQ: TSLA
Key Data Points
Any list of electric car stocks should include the granddaddy of them all, Tesla. While some customers have taken exception to Elon Musk's ventures with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in Washington, D.C., the electric car company still demands respect as a force driving the EV industry forward after delivering more than 1.63 million vehicles in 2025. Most of the vehicles were Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossover SUVs, and the rest were Tesla's older, pricier models.
Despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop, Tesla continues to aggressively expand production. Production is currently ramping up at Tesla's factories in Texas and Germany.
Tesla resorted to price cuts to sell vehicles in 2025 as consumer demand faltered, a move that has hurt the bottom line. In 2025, Tesla's automotive segment gross margin slipped to 16.2% from 16.9% in 2024. Still, it succeeded in expanding its free cash flow to $6.2 billion -- a 74% year-over-year increase.
With a market capitalization currently over $1.4 trillion, Tesla stock trades at lofty price-to-earnings (P/E) and price-to-sales (P/S) ratios. The valuation makes the stock risky, but there's no denying the company is a leader in the electric vehicle industry.
2. NIO: A Chinese SUV specialist
NYSE: NIO
Key Data Points
NASDAQ: RIVN
Key Data Points
Investors were very excited about Rivian when the EV company went public in late 2021. It was one of the biggest U.S. IPOs ever, with the company raising almost $12 billion. Rivian's market value briefly topped $150 billion soon after its debut.
Rivian had barely delivered any of its electric trucks or SUVs when it went public, so investing in the stock was the ultimate leap of faith. The company produced more than 1,000 vehicles in 2021, a tiny number compared to Tesla and other large automakers. Deliveries have grown in the ensuing years, though they dropped from 51,579 vehicles in 2024 to 42,284 vehicles in 2025 due to a temporary pause of production lines at its plant in Illinois in preparation for the launch of production of its R2 model in the first half of 2026.
Rivian is taking a risk by vertically integrating critical components like electronics, the propulsion platform, and software. The strategy may pay off if the company can rapidly grow production over the next few years, but it also means costs will be higher in the near term.
Although it's still incurring net losses, it's making progress towards profitability. In 2025, Rivian reported a gross profit of $144 million compared to a gross loss of $1.2 billion in 2024.
Rivian had $3.6 billion in cash on its balance sheet as of Dec. 31, 2025, so it can afford to lose vast sums as it ramps up production. But if the company hits a roadblock, it could be in serious trouble.
Revenue
4. General Motors: An old name with a new approach
NYSE: GM
Key Data Points
Legacy automaker GM may not be a name that investors immediately recognize as an electric car company, but that may change before long. While the company is still committed to the production of internal combustion engine vehicles, it's also enthusiastic about its prospects regarding electric vehicles.
The company has built serious momentum towards reimagining itself as a company steering towards electric vehicle popularity among drivers. Despite the challenges facing electric car makers with federal consumer incentives ending, Paul Jacobson, the company's CFO, espoused optimism for its EVs in the company's Q4 2025 conference call, stating, "As consumer adoption of EVs increases, albeit at a slower pace than previously anticipated, we expect to achieve the necessary scale to deliver EVs profitably over time."
Unlike many EV companies that are reinvesting in their businesses to spur innovation, GM is rewarding shareholders with a modest dividend in addition to reinvesting in the company. As of March 2026, GM stock provided investors with a 0.98% forward-yielding dividend.
5. BYD: Holding the pole position in the EV industry
OTC: BYDDY
Key Data Points
NASDAQ: LI
Key Data Points
Li Auto represents another Chinese company that deserves to be on EV investors' radars. Compared to BYD, which first offered an EV to customers in 2008, Li Auto is a newer name on the EV scene in China that began scaling production of its EVs in 2019. Since then, the company has made tremendous progress in grabbing a larger slice of the Chinese EV market. As of the end of 2025, the company had 548 retail stores in 159 cities and 561 servicing centers and Li Auto-authorized body and paint shops. Helping customers to keep their (electric) motors running, Li Auto also has 3,907 supercharging stations equipped with 21,651 charging stalls.
Consistently providing drivers with new options, Li Auto launched a six-seat battery electric SUV, the Li i8, in July 2025, and it subsequently launched a more affordable battery electric SUV, Li i6, which management expects will reach a production capacity of 20,000 units by early 2026.
While profitability has been inconsistent, Li Auto did report net income of $162.9 million in 2025. Its sizable cash position of $8.1 billion (as of Dec. 31, 2025) suggests Li Auto is well-positioned to endure temporary market downturns while also providing resources to reinvest in the business and create new EV models.
7. Volkswagen AG -- VW is committed to EV
OTC: VWAGY
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NYSE: F
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Reporting $19.5 billion in impairment charges in 2025, Ford is pivoting from the EV initiative it implemented earlier this decade, yet it remains a viable opportunity for investors to gain exposure to the EV industry. After finding weaker customer demand than it had originally estimated, Ford has decided to no longer pursue the development of certain EV models and opted, instead, for a broader approach.
But that's not to say that the company doesn't remain intent on expanding its electrified offerings. The company projects that about 50% of its global volume will be hybrids, extended-range EVs, and electric vehicles, compared to 17% today.
Ford reported a company record in 2025: hybrid vehicle sales rose 21.7% year-over-year to 228,072 vehicles. And that's not the only indication of Ford's success in the EV market. The F-150 Hybrid sold a record 84,934 trucks in 2025, up 15.0% from 2024, and held onto its title as America’s best-selling full-size hybrid pickup. Similarly, Maverick Hybrid totaled 81,034 pickups in 2025, setting a new sales record, earning it the title of best-selling mid-size hybrid truck in the United States.
9. Lucid Group --
NASDAQ: LCID
Key Data Points
Unlike many of the other names on this list, Lucid Group has only represented an EV investment option since 2021, when it completed a business merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPA). For those who regret not buying Tesla stock early in its journey towards EV dominance, Lucid stock may be especially appealing. Taking a page out of the Tesla playbook, Lucid's strategy mirrors Tesla's, which initially catered to the luxury market before introducing more affordable EV models. In late 2026, Lucid plans to start production of its more affordable midsize EV, Lucid Cosmos, which is expected to have a starting price under $50,000.
Like Tesla, Lucid has won high marks from critics. The company's luxury EV sedan, Lucid Air, has won numerous industry awards, including being named to Car and Driver's 10Best Cars list for 2024, 2025, and 2026, while the company's SUV, Lucid Gravity found itself on the 2026 10Best Trucks and SUVs list. Customers are flocking to Lucid's EVs as well. The company delivered 15,841 vehicles in 2025, a 55% year-over-year increase.
Yet another similarity with Tesla is Lucid's interest in robotaxis. Early in 2026, Lucid announced its intent to partner with Uber on bringing a robotaxi to market in 2026 with plans to ramp up production in the next two to five years.
The company is still unprofitable, and it has some ways to go before achieving breakeven on the bottom line. It reported a net loss of $2.7 billion in 2025, but those comfortable with a higher risk investment may be rewarded if the company continues driving in the right direction.
10. VinFast Auto
NASDAQ: VFS
Key Data Points
One of the newer EV stocks available to investors thanks to its business merger with a SPAC in 2023, VinFast is a Vietnamese company that's a subsidiary of Vingroup JSC. While the company has a history of producing internal combustion engine-powered vehicles, in 2022 the company announced its plan to solely manufacture EVs, making it a pure-play EV investment option.
While it's the top car seller in Vietnam, VinFast is committed to expanding its presence worldwide. In addition to the two factories it operates in Vietnam, VinFast opened two more factories in India and Indonesia in 2025, and the company currently has more than 380 showrooms -- 102 of which are located in markets outside of Vietnam.
Illustrating the company's success on the world's stage, VinFast reported deliveries of 196,919 EVs globally, representing a 102% year-over-year increase. And though it's the early innings for VinFast, the company is making progress towards profitability. In 2025, it reported a gross margin of negative 42.5%, an improvement over the negative 57.4% in 2024.
For those seeking a ride with an EV growth opportunity, VinFast is a stock to consider, though those interested in buying shares must be comfortable with the higher degree of risk.
How to invest in electric car stocks
For investors charged up about powering their portfolios with EV stocks, there are only a few simple steps they need to take:
- Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
- Search for the EV stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
- Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
- Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
- Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
- Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected, and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.
What makes the electric car industry different from the traditional auto industry?
Until recently, very few companies manufactured any kind of electric vehicle, but every major automaker in the world is developing or producing an EV now.
Because the major interest in electric cars is so recent, the only established industry leader is Tesla. Start-up EV makers can compete fairly well with traditional automakers for electric car market share, making it difficult to discern which companies will ultimately dominate the market. That unpredictability makes investing in the electric car industry riskier than adding portfolio exposure to the automotive industry as a whole.
Pros and cons of investing in electric car stocks
Pros:
- Electric car stocks provide the potential for significant growth. Grand View Research estimated the global electric car market size to be $1.3 trillion in 2024 and forecasts it to rise to reach USD $6.5 trillion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.5% from 2025 to 2030.
- While investment goals may vary, portfolio diversification is a crucial element of any investment strategy, and electric car stocks could help achieve this goal.
- Investing in electric car stocks often provides exposure to the autonomous driving industry, which is also expected to experience significant growth in the years to come.
Cons:
- If a downturn in the economy occurs, consumers may be less inclined to purchase new cars -- let alone electric cars.
- When oil prices are low, the allure of owning an electric car diminishes for some people, so lower energy prices could hinder the growth of electric car manufacturers.
- In the past, government incentives have contributed to increased adoption of electric cars; however, the elimination of these incentives could reduce customer demand for electric cars.
Factors to consider before investing in electric car stocks
Since the electric car industry is still relatively young, investors must be flexible in their approach to evaluating potential investments. With respect to legacy carmakers -- like General Motors and Volkswagen -- that have focused on expanding their lineups with electric models, investors should verify the companies' investments are proving to be profitable by using the earnings per share (EPS) metric to assess their financial health and the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio to evaluate the stocks' price tags.
For less-established companies, investors will want to monitor whether they are growing revenue, as they're likely to be unprofitable. Similarly, since the P/E ratio will be useless for companies that are still incurring net losses, investors will want to use the P/S ratio to gauge the stocks' valuations.
The future of the electric car industry
Multiple major automakers have recently adopted Tesla's EV charging technology, making it likely to become the standard in the U.S. This standardization should make purchasing and charging EVs simpler, which could help drive growth in the industry.
Many companies participating in the EV sector are going public, while legacy automakers plan to release a plethora of electric vehicles over the next five years. Investing in this highly competitive and fast-growing industry is likely to be profitable, but it's important to take steps to minimize your investment risk. Don't invest in just one electric car company; hold positions in several companies of various sizes, and consider buying shares in an electric vehicle ETF.
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