Ryan Stancil,
Editor
Aug. 22, 2022
You can’t talk about electric cars without mentioning Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). You simply can’t.
Just about every car manufacturer under the sun is offering electric vehicles at this point, and many more models are coming in the next few years. Still, when most people think of EVs, they think of Elon Musk’s company.
It’s a fast-moving technological shift that society hasn’t really seen since the widespread adoption of smartphones.
It wasn’t that long ago that Teslas and other EVs were an extremely rare sight on America’s roads. Now, you can barely go anywhere without seeing a few dozen in most places.
Countries are fighting climate change and car companies are shifting strategies to put more EVs out into the world. It will only be a few more years before those EVs outnumber the combustion engine cars we’ve had for a century.
That will mark a big shift here in the US in particular where the car has long been a symbol of our culture. Drive-In theaters, road trips, motorsports, upward mobility of the middle class — the automobile is central to nearly all aspects of American life.
And the very companies that have made their fortunes and built their reputations on the success of the combustion engine automobile are having to reinvent themselves in the face of the societal shift EVs are bringing.
Just this past week, Dodge announced that it is going to discontinue its Charger and Challenger models in their current forms after the 2023 model year. The Charger is a model that has been around for generations since the late 1960s. The Challenger was introduced for the 1970 model year.
Those are just a couple of US stalwarts synonymous with the term ‘Muscle Car.’ When you think of cars of this ilk — including the Mustang, Camaro, and GTO — you think of aggressive styling and the kind of powerful engines that burn fuel like nothing else.
Basically, the opposite of what EVs do.
And Dodge is doing what a lot of long-lived car companies are doing: attempting to marry their motoring heritage with 21st-century EV tech.
Right after announcing the end of the Challenger and Charger, Dodge revealed a concept EV called the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT “Banshee” with a targeted release date of 2024.
As you can see, it wraps some historical design cues around modern technology.
It’s a trend we’re already seeing across the automotive industry. Something for every driver. Manufacturers know that not every car buyer's needs are the same. Some just want a commuter car, some need a family hauler, some want performance. Varied designs and practicality are going to go hand-in-hand with wider availability of electric vehicles over the next few years.
When you consider that, along with the tax credits in the recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act ($7,500 tax credit for new EVs and $4,000 for used if they were built in the US), all signs point to this being one of the hottest sectors of the next decade.
But the real investment play will be in the widening infrastructure needed to support it.
Last year’s infrastructure bill included money for an expanded charging network — a crucial part of getting more Americans into electric cars. That expansion is going to create the kind of investment opportunity that only comes around once in a generation.
As America’s power infrastructure gets revitalized, there are a few ways for investors to participate.
One, however, has so far flown under the radar even though it’s poised to be one of the biggest winners.
That means investors who get in on this play now stand to reap some of the biggest profits when things really start to take off. It’s going to happen quickly with many nations wanting to phase out combustion engines within the next decade.
So put your money in the one sector guaranteed to grow alongside wider EV adoption. Just like those electric cars, more people are going to be talking about it before you know it.
Keep your eyes open,
Ryan Stancil
Editor, Daily Profit Cycle