3 No-Brainer EV Stocks to Buy Right Now for Less Than $1,000

Electric Vehicle Market Overview - The EV market has cooled off due to inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain challenges, creating buying opportunities for patient investors [1] - Li Auto, Nio, and QuantumScape are highlighted as potential high-growth investments in the EV sector [3] Li Auto - Li Auto is a leading Chinese manufacturer of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), including SUVs and a battery-powered Mega minivan [4] - Annual deliveries surged from 32,624 vehicles in 2020 to 376,030 vehicles in 2023, with a 40% YoY growth in the first nine months of 2024 [4] - The company operates 894 supercharging stations with 4,286 charging stalls and 479 retail stores across 145 cities in China [5] - Revenue is expected to grow 18% in 2024, with a CAGR of 28% from 2024 to 2026 [6] - Net income is projected to dip 35% in 2024 due to production ramp-up but rise at a CAGR of 53% over the next two years [6] - Li Auto trades at 0.5 times its 2024 sales, with an enterprise value of 75.2 billion yuan ($10.3 billion) [7] Nio - Nio is a major Chinese EV maker known for its removable battery technology and battery-swapping network [8] - Deliveries grew from 20,565 vehicles in 2019 to 160,038 vehicles in 2023, with a 36% YoY increase in the first nine months of 2024 [9] - The company is expanding in Europe and plans to ramp up deliveries of its high-end Firefly compact EV [9] - Revenue is expected to grow 23% in 2024, with a CAGR of 33% from 2024 to 2026 [10] - Nio trades at 0.9 times its 2024 sales, with an enterprise value of 62.1 billion yuan ($8.5 billion) [10] QuantumScape - QuantumScape is a developer of solid-state lithium metal batteries, which are less volatile, have better thermal resistance, and charge faster than traditional lithium-ion batteries [12] - The company has partnered with Volkswagen for over a decade and is testing its batteries through Volkswagen's PowerCo group [13] - QuantumScape began shipping samples of its QSE-5 batteries to automakers in Q3 2024 and plans to continue low-volume test shipments throughout 2025 [14] - The company has an enterprise value of $2.3 billion and is expected to start commercial battery shipments in the coming years [15]