The last couple of years have been tough for the motor industry as a whole. While Covid only brought production lines to standstill for a limited period of time the following supply chain snarl-ups created a real headache for just-in-time operators and the dearth of crucial parts like semiconductors sent prices skyrocketing.

The more established names were able to use their size to muscle their way to the front of the queue leaving start-ups and scale-ups wondering if the race to develop the next big EV (electric vehicle) evolution was over before it had even really begun.

Investors watched warily as production time frames were lengthened, delivery dates were missed and share prices tumbled.

But recent weeks have brought a slew of announcements that have piqued interest once again, particularly in US companies both big and small and in the commercial vehicle space.

US inflation appears to be finally cooling off, the supply wheels have been lubricated and Joe Biden’s administration has made a big stride towards speeding up the transition to EVs.

RIVIAN ACCELERATES

The landmark climate and healthcare bill comes with a tangle of strings attached with regards to EV tax incentives. However, industry bosses are notably positive about its potential impact in the commercial space with Rivian Automotive (RIVN:NYSE) chief executive RJ Scaringe saying it could provide a ‘powerful tailwind’.

Rivian desperately needs that tailwind having shed more than 60% of its value since its highly anticipated and initially successful stock market float in November 2021. The Jeff Bezos-backed business is still haemorrhaging cash and has been forced to cut staffing costs but it’s the revenue number that’s finally sending investor pulse rates rising and the share price ticking up by more than 20% in a month.

It soundly beat analyst forecasts in the last quarter and its production numbers are finally reaching meaningful volumes which suggests it might just fulfil the promise of delivering 100,000 electric vans to shareholder Amazon (AMZN:NASDAQ) before the agreed 2024 due date, with a second shift due to come online for vehicle assembly at its Illinois plant during the next quarter.

NIKOLA HAS FURTHER TO TRAVEL

Competitor Nikola (NKLA:NYSE) has even further to travel if it’s to emulate Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ) and mass produce a vehicle that can dominate the ongoing transition to EVs. While Rivian is focusing on the last few delivery miles Nikola knows that long range, affordable, practical haulage will be a veritable gold mine for the companies that can grab market share ahead of the pack.

The company has had more than its fair share of challenges and its outgoing CEO Mark Russell has done a terrific job of dragging the company clear of previous scandal and to the precipice of solid production. But the next mile of the journey comes with new challenges, the kind a veteran of the auto sector like Michael Lohscheller should be more than equipped to deal with.

The appointment of the former Opel boss, due to start in January, was broadly welcomed by investors. But the business needs to show it can make good on its, currently very small, delivery targets and accelerate towards real numbers, real progress, real potential. To do that it will need continued investor support at a time when funds are getting harder to come by.

No one understands that journey better than Elon Musk. It took 18 years for Tesla to report its first full year profit, but its latest quarterly numbers will have been eyed enviously by its less mature rivals.

THE ESTABLISHED PLAYERS RESPOND

Tesla set the bar when it comes to taking on the legacy automakers like Ford (F:NYSE) and General Motors (GM:NYSE) and judging by Musk’s recent tweet it’s not prepared to settle for anything less than total EV domination. He used Twitter to reveal the long-awaited Tesla Semi will ship this year and his ‘Cybertruck’ electric pick-up will be available from next year.

Anyone who has driven America’s interstate highways will know the sheer scale of the challenge faced by hauliers and in turn the range required to make EVs a practical solution for this kind of commercial use.

EV technology is developing at a blistering pace. And it has to if it’s going to become practical and affordable enough to completely replace combustion engines across the world. Companies like Ford and General Motors had been racing to keep up but the last few years has helped them gain ground.

While pivoting traditional lines to electric has brought challenges, for some investors the safety of household names with solid revenue streams provides a less speculative opportunity to invest in the EV space.

But both Ford and General Motors clearly understand the importance of start-ups; the former has a significant stake in Rivian, and the latter has created subsidiary BrightDrop to help it navigate the new world.

There are plusses and minuses when it comes to scale, the larger the company the more challenging it is to shift direction but there is also some safety in being more established and more diversified.

What’s certain is there will only be a finite period of time for both old and new brands to win over the market.

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