The electric vehicle (EV) market has exploded over the last couple years, with multiple firms exclusively manufacturing the automobiles and even developing software and batteries in-house. Tesla Inc. (TSLA) was one of the first to be considered as more than just a traditional auto retailer. As the technologies involved in the cars advance and more investment pours in, the EV market looks set to continue its rise for years to come.
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And now, even some of the oldest, most legacy auto manufacturers are moving straight into the eye of the storm. General Motors Company (GM), led by CEO Mary Barra, is heavily investing in EVs, and is thrusting its might behind as much technology it can get its hands on. Large shifts in company direction are leading analysts to categorize it more often as a disruptive technology firm, more similar to Tesla than to its former self. (See General Motors stock charts)
Discussing this shift in his report, Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities wrote that although EVs currently account for about 3% of autos sold globally, this metric could increase to 10% by 2025, and even 20% or more by 2030.
Ives reiterated a Buy rating for the stock, and declared a price target of $85. This target reflects a potential 12-month upside of 44.66%.
In order to capture as much of that market as possible, GM has announced $35 billion in research and development for batteries and autonomous driving software, as well as seven new manufacturing sites exclusively for EVs. With this investment, he expects GM to release up to 30 new all-electric models by 2025.
Furthermore, the five-star analyst mentioned that GM’s CEO expects EVs to comprise 100% of all its car sales by 2035. This may seem unrealistic at the moment, but GM is moving full steam ahead with its multi-decade plan.
The nascent U.S. EV market could be worth $5 trillion by 2030, and by moving swiftly to capture much of it, Ives believes GM can double its market cap by the end of 2022. This would represent investors’ confidence of a bright decade ahead for GM.
General Motors currently holds about 17% of the U.S. auto market, and could very well “eat up” more of the EV market share in the coming years.
On TipRanks, GM has an analyst rating consensus of Strong Buy, based on 14 Buy ratings and 1 Hold rating. The average General Motors price target is $73.73, which suggests a possible 12-month upside of 25.48%. The stock closed trading Friday at a price of $58.76 per share.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
