Infrastructure Funding Electrifies EV Charging Stocks - Barron's

A ChargePoint charging plug sits connected to an electric vehicle at a station in Los Angeles.
Dania Maxwell/Bloomberg

Electric-vehicle stocks were charged up Monday, riding a wave of optimism after Congress passed a $1 trillion infrastructure package that provides billions of dollars of funding for the EV industry.

The measure passed by the House Friday evening provides $7.5 billion for building a network of electric-vehicle chargers over five years, with the potential for additional funding.

The bill allocates $5 billion to expand EV-charging stations along highways and an additional $2.5 billion for other charging alternatives such as hydrogen-fueling infrastructure. In a speech on Friday, President Joe Biden said the funding could help build more than 500,000 charging stations, and help make 50% of vehicles electric by 2030.

“You’ll be able to go across the whole darn country, from East Coast to West Coast, just like you’d stop at a gas station now,” Biden said. “These charging stations will be available.”

The bill also directs $7.5 billion for procuring electric and low-emissions school buses and ferries.

Investors drove stocks related to electric-vehicle charging higher on Monday.

ChargePoint Holdings (ticker: CHPT), the most valuable EV charging company by market cap, was up 10.8%. EVgo (EVGO), a close competitor with more than 800- charging locations, was up 16.2%. Volta (VLTA) gained 10.9%, Wallbox ( WBX ) rose 6%, and Blink Charging (BLNK) gained nearly 12%.

A separate bill investing in what Democrats call “human infrastructure” contains more measures for encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles. The bill provides tax credits for EV-buyers that could rise as high as $12,500.

Together, the measures could help spur Americans to shift toward EV despite being relatively hesitant with EV adoption. Only about 2% of all cars sold in 2020 were all-electric, coming out to 250,000 out of 16 million light vehicles.

“The EV component of the Biden Infrastructure plan only buoys the EV adoption curve in the US over the coming years,” wrote Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives in a note on Sunday.

Write to Sabrina Escobar at sabrina.escobar@barrons.com

Adblock test (Why?)