Electric Vehicles (EV) – Thematic Research

Electric Vehicle Theme Analysis Report Overview

There were 10.74 million electrified vehicles (EVs) on the road globally by the end of 2021. The transition to electrification is creating unprecedented disruption in the auto industry. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with more than a century of experience building combustion-powered vehicles are now battling overcapacity across their production networks and face big costs to retool their factories. Meanwhile, EV startups have emerged to meet swelling demand.

The widely reported environmental damage from combustion-powered transport has led governments around the world to announce cut-off dates for the sale of combustion-powered light vehicles. This is being met by growing consumer demand for EVs led by desirable models from both novel startups and established players.

The electric vehicles thematic report looks at the electric vehicles theme – principally, battery electric vehicles (BEVs). These models demand new technologies and components that were previously uncommon in vehicles, especially in the field of lithium-ion batteries, which are not a core competency for most traditional automakers.

What are the different value chains in the EV market?

The value chains in the EV market can be divided into five segments: batteries, semiconductors, auto components, assembly, and charging.

Batteries

The main raw material inputs in the electric vehicle value chain comprise the metals used to make a battery’s components. The metal used depends on the battery technology. Li-ion battery technology is currently the dominant form used in electric vehicles today, although there are several variants of this technology in use around the world.

Semiconductors

Countless different types of semiconductor chips are used in almost all vehicle types today. At the processor level, the main players are Nvidia, Intel, and Qualcomm in the CPU field. NXP, Infineon, and Texas Instruments lead in the supply of MCUs. The main challenge for CPU makers is from AMD, Texas Instruments, and Xilinx and, for MCU makers, from Cypress.

Auto components

Auto components can be further divided into two parts: electric drivetrains and tier-1 auto component suppliers. The leading companies in electric drivetrains include a range of EV manufacturers and Tier-1 suppliers. Many of these firms previously had strengths in combustion-engine powertrain components and are in the process of pivoting to parts supply for electric vehicles as the ICE business begins to dry up. The key auto parts suppliers that are rising to meet the challenge posed by the transition to EVs include parts giants Bosch, Continental AG, Denso, and Magna.

Assembly

Electric vehicles are easier to assemble than ICE vehicles largely because their powertrains are simpler in layout. They are essentially made up of a bed of batteries under the floor, one or more electric motors, a simple, often single-speed transmission, and a power management system. This adds up to just a handful of components, compared to hundreds in an ICE drivetrain. This makes the assembly of an electric vehicle a comparatively easy task for carmakers.

Charging

There are millions of charging stations around the world right now, but many more will be needed to facilitate the transition away from combustion vehicles. Extensive public charging networks are necessary not only to enable longer journeys in EVs but also to allow users that lack at-home charging facilities the ability to charge regularly.

Which are the leading companies that are associated with the EV theme?

Some of the leading companies that are associated with the EV theme are Arrival, BMW, BAIC, BYD, Byton, Canoo, Chang’an, Dongfeng, FAW, Ford, Foxconn, GAC, Geely, and General Motors.

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Market report scope

Scope

This report is part of our ecosystem of thematic investment research reports, supported by our “thematic engine”.

About our Thematic Research Ecosystem: GlobalData has developed a unique thematic methodology for valuing technology, media, and telecom companies based on their relative strength in the big investment themes that are impacting their industry. Whilst most investment research is underpinned by backward-looking company valuation models, GlobalData’s thematic methodology identifies which companies are best placed to succeed in a future filled with multiple disruptive threats. To do this, GlobalData tracks the performance of the top 600 technology, media, and telecom stocks against the 50 most important themes driving their earnings, generating 30,000 thematic scores. The algorithms in GlobalData’s “thematic engine” help to identify the winners and losers within the TMT sector. Our 600 TMT stocks are categorized into 18 sectors. Each sector scorecard has a thematic screen, a risk screen, and a valuation screen. Our thematic research ecosystem has a three-tiered reporting structure: single theme, multi-theme, and sector scorecard. This report is a multi-theme report, covering all stocks, all sectors, and all themes, giving readers a strong sense of how everything fits together and how conflicting themes might interact with one another.

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