As the climate clock ticks on, we are in pursuit of global environmental sustainability. But, with greenwashing, our perspective and vision toward a greener and cleaner environment has become clouded and it obstructs any positive change that we need to make for a sustainable future. While clean technology and alternative energy continue to be focus areas, electronic vehicles (EVs) are spearheading this change.

EV Boom in Transportation & Luxury

President Joe Biden has made plans for developing America’s infrastructure that will lay the foundation for the next generation. And a big part of the bill doesn’t even focus on roads, highways, and bridges, but rather on the EV revolution.

From luxury EVs to EVs for transport, the industry has grown in leaps and bound since Tesla, Inc. (TSLA Quick QuoteTSLA - Free Report) released its first completely-electric Roadster in 2008. Per Canalys reports, the global sales of EVs jumped 39% year over year to 3.1 million units in 2020. And the research company forecasts that the number of EVs sold in 2028 will rise to 30 million and by 2030, nearly half (48%) of all passenger cars sold globally will be electric.

As EVs make significant progress in 2021, their adoption for mass transportation gives the industry a substantial push that it requires to grow. Bigwigs like Amazon have already begun making deliveries through its electric Rivian vans to customers in Los Angeles. The giant plans to expand its EV delivery testing to 15 more cities this year and in turn build a fleet of 10,000 vehicles by 2022. In February, U.S. Postal Service drew a 10-year contract with Oshkosh Defense to deliver up to 165,000 electric delivery vehicles.

Auto giants like Ford Motor Company (F Quick QuoteF - Free Report) and General Motors Company (GM Quick QuoteGM - Free Report) have already upped their games in the EV market. The company founded by Henry Ford plans to double its EV investment to $22 billion through 2025. Ford also has a line-up of 3 EVs this year and the next -- the Mach-E, the e-Transit commercial van and an electric F-150. Meanwhile, General Motors has shared plans to stop making gasoline-powered passenger cars, vans and sport utility vehicles by 2035. The giant would instead invest $27 billion in EVs and associated products between 2020 and 2025.

When it comes to EVs, customers often question usability in long rides and luxury. But with big auto giants already in play, the luxury element seems to be easily achievable. In fact, new automobile companies are focusing on providing customers smooth riding experience as they would get in their petrol cars.  Luxury EV startup, Lucid Motors, also plans to begin its lux EV Lucid Air’s production for customer deliveries in the second half of this year and boasts of more than 10,000 reservations, which equal to $900 million in anticipated sales. Air electric sedan has claimed to beat Tesla’s Model S and Amazon-backed EV startup Rivian's R1T in battery efficiency, which is the utmost measure of EV technology. Lucid Motors also claims to beat luxury EVs from Jaguar, Porsche and Audi on the same metric. The company plans to go public merging with Churchill Capital Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

4 Stocks to Play

Biden administration has already poured in federal tax credits and state incentives to boost EV sales. And with traditional automakers producing EVs, the market will have cheaper vehicles available in the near future to give buyers a better reason to switch to EV. We have thus shortlisted four pure-play EV manufacturers and traditional automakers (producing EV) that investors should keep an eye on.

General Motors designs, builds, and sells cars, trucks, crossovers, and automobile parts. The automaker recently unveiled the Cadillac LYRIQ show car and the GMC HUMMER EV, which joined the Chevrolet Bolt EV, and is currently on the market. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 29.4% compared with the Zacks Automotive - Domestic industry’s projected growth of 20.2%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this company’s current-year earnings has been revised 19.9% upward over the past 60 days. General Motors flaunts a Zack Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Ford Motor designs, manufactures, markets, and services a range of Ford trucks, cars, sport utility vehicles, electrified vehicles, and Lincoln luxury vehicles. By spring of 2022, F-150 Lightning will be available in four series and two battery options, joining the range of Mustang Mach-E currently in the company’s catalog.

Ford, a Zack Rank #1 company, has an expected earnings growth rate for the current year of more than 100% compared with the Zacks Automotive - Domestic industry’s projected growth of 20.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this company’s current-year earnings has been revised 11.6% upward over the past 60 days.

Tesla designs, develops, manufactures, leases, and sells electric vehicles, and energy generation and storage systems.The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is nearly 92% compared with the Zacks Automotive - Domestic industry’s projected growth of 20.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this company’s current-year earnings has been revised 1.2% upward over the past 60 days. Tesla sports a Zack Rank #2 (Buy).

XPeng Inc. (XPEV Quick QuoteXPEV - Free Report) designs, develops, manufactures, and markets smart electric vehicles and offers SUVs under the G3 brand, and four-door sports sedan under the P7 name. This Zack Rank #2 company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is nearly 41% compared with the Zacks Automotive - Foreign industry’s projected growth of 30.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this company’s current-year earnings has been revised 10% upward over the past 60 days.