The best is yet to come, and won’t that be fine?
You think you’ve seen the sun, but you ain’t seen it shine.
– Frank Sinatra
We begin the 2nd season of The Socially Inspired Investor by taking a deeper dive into the topic of Electric Mobility a.k.a. “The EV” movement. GM has announced that they will offer over 30 electrics by 2025 while publicly and loudly charting a path to an all-electric future. Clearly, Tesla has a huge lead but waking a giant rarely comes without consequence. Even Jaguar announced it will go 100% electric by 2025. Mercedes-Benz will shift its focus entirely to electric vehicles in 2025 and be prepared to sell nothing but electric cars by 2030.
As giddy as investors have been about EV, we are far from clear about how it will all develop. Experts tell us that gas combustible driven cars will still be the norm for the foreseeable future. Jeremy McCool, Founder and CEO of HEVO Power, is our featured guest on our PODCAST discussing the latest on the industry including their development of wireless EV charging.
But it’s not all roses. In our SPOTLIGHT ON section, we ask our experts to speak to the challenges and investments opportunities we face as we move toward mobility. Their observations were very insightful.
Despite the excitement, it appears the EV market currently faces epic supply chain disruptions – most notably a semiconductor chip shortage and the challenges of long charging times – especially during extended trips. And then there is the scarcity of many of the raw materials found in the batteries that these vehicles use.
In California 20% of purchasers of EV vehicles actually revert to gas, according to a study by researchers at the University of California Davis (www.thehill.com).
Even tires will require innovation. The average EV vehicle can weigh almost twice as much as its older siblings (www.thehill.com). Companies like MICHELIN® see this as a unique opportunity to build market share and we investors should take note. On April 1, the MICHELIN® pilot® product line was launched, taking into account the higher weight characteristics associated with electric sports cars.
Yes, we are in the very early stages.
But yet we are very inspired about all the prospects that electric mobility can bring. Along the journey, we expect to find many good investment opportunities. With so much to be settled, the final story may be a long time coming. But in the investment world, this is not necessarily a bad thing. The market adage “buy the rumor, sell the news” should inform the investor when it comes to how to “play” the EV category.
Welcome back! We have a great new season planned. If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe at www.sociallyinspiredinvestor.com to receive notices of new issues and feel free to invite others.
