Embarking on a road trip in a new truck should be a delight. But for Dalbir Bala from La Salle, Manitoba, it turned out to be a frustrating experience.
Bala bought an electric 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat in January for CA$115,000 ($85,000) plus taxes. In July, he set out with his wife and three children for a road trip to Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, and Chicago.
The truck was fully charged when they left home, and Bala had scheduled three stops along the route for recharging.
The first charging stop in Fargo, North Dakota, went as planned. But when they got to their second stop in Albertville, Minnesota, Bala encountered a faulty connection message while attempting to charge the truck.
He then went to another charging station in Elk River, Minnesota, but the charger didn't work there either.
"That's when we decided we don't want any more distraction or any frustration," Bala told CBC News.
At this point, the Lightning only had 15 km (9.3 miles) of range left, so Bala decided to have it towed to a Ford dealership in Elk River. The family then rented a gas-powered Toyota 4Runner to complete their trip to Chicago.
"It was really a nightmare frustration for us," Bala said.
In response to Bala's experience, Ford released a statement saying, "This customer's experience highlights the urgent need to rapidly improve access to public charging across the U.S. and Canada. Ford's EV-certified dealers will install public-facing DC fast chargers at their dealerships by early 2024, providing alternative charging options to those available today. Ford was also the first in the industry to gain access to over 12,000 Tesla Superchargers for Ford drivers."
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Although stories like this might make some reconsider transitioning from gas-powered vehicles, electric vehicle adoption continues to grow in North America. Meanwhile, Wall Street sees major opportunity in the segment.
Upside In EV Stocks
Ford Motor Co. F may not be the first name to come to mind when thinking of EV stocks, but the company's aggressive push into electrification is gaining momentum. For instance, in the first seven months of 2023, Ford sold 10,309 F-150 Lightnings, representing a 130.7% increase year over year.
Earlier this month, Ford announced that it has resumed production of the F-150 Lightning after a planned shutdown to upgrade its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan. The expansion will allow the company to produce the electric pickup truck at an annualized rate of 150,000 units by this fall.
Ford stock has pulled back recently, but Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas sees a revival on the horizon. The analyst has an Overweight rating on Ford and a price target of $16, implying a potential upside of 35%.
In the realm of EV stocks, Tesla Inc. TSLA is the most notable. Boasting a market cap of approximately $730 billion, its valuation is roughly 15 times that of Ford.
In the second quarter, Tesla delivered 466,140 EVs, representing an 83% increase from a year ago.
Shares have more than doubled year to date. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives has an Outperform rating on Tesla and a price target of $350 — around 50% above where the stock currently sits.
While EV makers are often under the spotlight, investors may also want to take a look at the infrastructure plays supporting electric cars. For instance, ChargePoint Holdings Inc. CHPT has a massive charging network with more than 240,000 activated ports. It has delivered more than 172 million charging sessions to date.
TD Cowen analyst Gabe Daoud has an Outperform rating on ChargePoint and a price target of $14. Because shares trade at $7 as of this writing, the price target implies a potential upside of 100%.
As with all stocks, EV companies can see their share prices fluctuate unpredictably — and even top analysts aren't right 100% of the time. If you don't like such volatility, you might want to look into reliable income plays outside the stock market — such as investing in rental properties with as little as $100 while staying completely hands-off.
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