Global interest in plug-in vehicles continues to grow, but Big Auto continues to take only timid and halting steps toward electrification. This presents opportunities for bold new competitors to establish footholds in the auto market of the future. A new report from Guidehouse Insights identifies some of the “leading EV upstarts.”

Guidehouse notes that momentum in the EV market to date has relied heavily on government support, and has coincided with years of growth in the overall auto industry. These conditions are changing—some governments are revising EV policies, and global automotive markets, which hit a peak in 2017-2018, aren’t expected to recover from the coronavirus crisis for at least a couple of years.

The report, “Guidehouse Insights Leaderboard: EV Upstarts,” evaluates the current crop of companies producing plug-in and fuel cell vehicles. Each of the companies included has launched a first vehicle in the past 3 years, or is working toward production launch of a first vehicle. The report compares automakers across the following areas: differentiation, go-to-market strategy, partners, investments, geographic reach, performance, portfolio, marketing, innovation and staying power.

“Leading upstarts have distinguished themselves within the industry in a first-mover capacity and have either deployed EVs or are near to deployment,” said Guidehouse Senior Research Analyst Scott Shepard. “Rivian is a first mover in the North American pickup truck market and has secured significant partners and investors including Ford and Amazon, while NIO has produced the most vehicles of all competitors and has innovated solutions for battery swapping and mobile charging services. Nikola is the only competitor among those examined in this report looking to deploy both FCVs and BEVs.”

Source: Guidehouse Insights via Green Car Congress