Once considered an unprofitable niche, electric vehicles (EVs) are now big business. Sales surpassed 10 million and 14% of cars sold were electric in , according to the International Energy Agency. The biggest electric car companies have also significantly increased production, with some more than doubling their annual volume.
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That has led to a shakeup at the top of the rankings for this year. Here are the 10 largest EV companies, including a new company at No. 1.
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Chinese conglomerate BYD Company (OTC:BYDDY), which is short for "Build Your Dreams," is the global leader in EV manufacturing. It produces personal and commercial EVs, as well as monorail systems and mobile components.
Multiple Chinese automakers ramped up EV production in , and BYD was one of them. Its EV volume grew by more than 200%, allowing it to jump several places and take the top spot on this list.
BYD's most popular line of vehicles is its Dynasty Series, which is named after China's imperial dynasties. Models include the BYD Qin, at one point the best-selling EV in the world, and the automaker's flagship sedan, the BYD Han.
Auto manufacturer and clean energy company Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) exploded onto the scene to become one of the world's largest companies in less than two decades. In , it became just the sixth company to break a market cap of $1 trillion.
Tesla's vehicles are extremely popular and have set multiple sales records. The Model 3 was the first EV to pass 1 million in global sales. In the first quarter of , the Model Y became the best-selling car worldwide, making it the first EV to hold that title.
While Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning incorporated Tesla as Tesla Motors in , the company is more closely associated with CEO Elon Musk. Musk first invested in the company in , becoming the largest shareholder and chairman of the board. He has served as CEO since .
German auto giant Volkswagen (FRA:VOW) has a longer history with EVs than many people realize. It started developing EVs in through its Centre for Future Research led by Dr. Adolf Kalberlah. The first all-electric Volkswagen was called the Elektro Transporter, with a range of 43.5 miles and a 10-hour charge time.
While Volkswagen experimented with EVs for decades, it announced in that it was making them a focus for the consumer market. The ID. series is its current EV lineup, including the ID.3 hatchback, the ID.4 crossover SUV, and the ID.7 sedan.
General Motors (NYSE:GM) dipped its toe in the EV world in the s when it produced the General Motors EV1. It was the first modern EV from a major manufacturer, and it was only available through lease agreements. Although it was popular with drivers, General Motors didn't expect EVs to be profitable, so it discontinued the program and destroyed most of the EVs.
What a difference a few decades makes since General Motors is now one of the top-five largest EV companies in the world. It has also announced plans to exclusively offer EVs and end production of its gas- and diesel-powered vehicles by .
General Motors has launched (or announced plans to launch) EVs across all its core auto brands (Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac). Its most popular so far has been the Chevrolet Bolt, but it's being phased out to transition to new EV models.
The youngest automaker on this list, Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) came about from a merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group. This company's auto brands include Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, and Jeep.
While Stellantis was slower than other automakers to prioritize electrification, it's quickly catching up. It has set targets of 100% of its sales in Europe and 50% of its sales in the U.S. to be BEVs by the end of the decade, and it's aiming for 5 million in annual global BEV sales by .
The company&#;s growing EV lineup contributed to a strong for Stellantis. The Fiat New 500 was the most-sold EV in Italy and ranked third among EVs in the 10 major European markets. In addition, the Peugeot e-208 was the best-selling EV in France.
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Hyundai Motors (FRA:HYU) was the third-largest automobile manufacturer in the world by sales in , and it came in sixth for EVs manufactured. Its top two brands are Hyundai Motor Company and Kia. It also has a luxury division, Genesis Motors, and an EV sub-brand called Ioniq, which launched in .
The company has set a goal of being a top-three EV manufacturer by and plans to invest 24 trillion South Korean won (approximately $18 billion) in the domestic EV sector. About $5.5 billion of that is going toward an EV plant to manufacture batteries.
Luxury vehicle manufacturer BMW Group (BMWYY) started researching EVs in . Its first EV was the BMW Electric, which could reach speeds of 100 kilometers per hour and had a maximum range of about 60 kilometers. Two of these cars were used as support and camera cars during the Olympic Games in Munich.
The BMW brand has several EVs in its lineup, including the compact executive i4, the i7 sedan, and the iX crossover SUV. Among its other brands, Mini has already launched EVs, and Rolls-Royce is currently working on its first EV, the Rolls-Royce Spectre.
BMW Group is projecting that its share of EVs in total vehicle deliveries could exceed 30% by as early as . It has also set a goal of delivering 10 million EVs to customers in total by .
One of the largest Chinese automobile manufacturers, Geely (OTC:GELYF) saw its EV sales skyrocket by more than 300% in . Geely controls quite a few auto brands around the world, with Volvo likely being the most recognizable in the U.S.
Geely has multiple EV-only brands, including luxury EV brand Zeekr and Swedish Polestar. Geely Auto offers entry-level EVs through its Geometry product line and upscale hybrids and EVs through its Geely Galaxy brand.
Mercedes-Benz Group (OTC:MBGY.Y) has long been one of the major luxury automakers, and now it's aiming to be the most desirable luxury EV brand. The company has pledged to go all-electric by . However, it has clarified that it will do that where market conditions allow, meaning it could possibly continue selling gas-powered vehicles in countries with limited EV demand.
To expand its EV footprint, Mercedes-Benz has announced plans for a global high-power charging network across key markets, including the U.S., Canada, Europe, and China. It aims to have the entire network in place by the end of the decade. Mercedes-Benz owners will receive preferential access, but charging stations will be open to all drivers.
Mercedes-Benz offers EVs through its Mercedes-EQ series, which it introduced in . Its best-selling EV in was the Mercedes-EQA, a subcompact luxury crossover SUV.
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance is a strategic alliance between those three automakers. While these companies haven't merged, they have cross-ownership of one another.
So far, the Alliance has invested more than 10 billion Euros in electrification and is planning to invest another 23 billion Euros going forward. It has set goals to reduce battery costs by 50% in and 65% by and reach a 220 gigawatt-hour production capacity by .
The world is moving more and more toward EVs. Many automakers have pledged that they're going all-electric. The federal government and more than 40 states offer EV incentives such as tax credits and rebates. Perhaps most importantly, EVs make up a growing share of total vehicles sold each year.
If you're interested in investing in EV companies, you have several options, including:
There are plenty of ways to add EV companies to your portfolio. ETFs are generally the easiest option since they include a large number of stocks that you don't need to choose yourself. If you prefer to pick stocks, the largest EV companies are a good place to start.
The top spot on this list goes to Chinese EV company BYD, which boosted EV production by 200% in . BYD&#;s most popular vehicles come from its Dynasty series and include the BYD Qin, which was one of four BYD vehicles to make the recent Top 10 Electric Cars list &#; no surprise as the manufacturer ceased production of ICE vehicles in to purely focus on EVs.
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