Advertisement
Australia markets closed

  • ALL ORDS

    7,817.40
    -81.50 (-1.03%)
     

  • ASX 200

    7,567.30
    -74.80 (-0.98%)
     

  • AUD/USD

    0.6428
    +0.0003 (+0.04%)
     

  • OIL

    83.18
    +0.45 (+0.54%)
     

  • GOLD

    2,403.00
    +5.00 (+0.21%)
     

  • Bitcoin AUD

    100,079.98
    +941.30 (+0.95%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,367.93
    +55.30 (+4.40%)
     

  • AUD/EUR

    0.6022
    -0.0009 (-0.14%)
     

  • AUD/NZD

    1.0894
    +0.0019 (+0.17%)
     

  • NZX 50

    11,796.21
    -39.83 (-0.34%)
     

  • NASDAQ

    17,229.59
    -164.72 (-0.95%)
     

  • FTSE

    7,871.41
    -5.64 (-0.07%)
     

  • Dow Jones

    37,966.95
    +191.57 (+0.51%)
     

  • DAX

    17,721.54
    -115.86 (-0.65%)
     

  • Hang Seng

    16,224.14
    -161.73 (-0.99%)
     

  • NIKKEI 225

    37,068.35
    -1,011.35 (-2.66%)
     

Volkswagen (VWAGY) to Sell Minority Stake in Electrify America

Zacks Equity Research
·4-min read

Volkswagen AG's VWAGY recently announced that it will sell a minority stake in its U.S. electric vehicle (EV) charge business to an arm of Siemens AG SIEGY. The deal would bring the valuation of the network to more than $2 billion.

A sale of a stake in Volkswagen’s Electrify America LLC would generate additional funding, which is part of a plan to more than double the number of EV charging stations that Electrify America has across the United States and parts of Canada to 1,800 by 2026. Electrify America expects to spend $2 billion on its expansion in the coming years, partly funded by the Siemens investment.

Germany-based Siemens would channelize the investment through its Siemens Financial Services unit. The deal would be synchronous with Siemens’s existing operations in the EV charging sector. The company recently said that it plans to expand its manufacturing operations in the United States as part of a plan to manufacture more than 1 million EV chargers in the country over the next four years.

Siemens has a considerable outreach in the country with its EV-focused operations in Texas, California, South Carolina and Georgia.

Electrify America was founded in 2016 in a bid to focus on clean vehicles after U.S. regulators accused the auto giant of installing so-called defeat devices on diesel cars that misstated emissions levels.

Governments and regulators have pushed aside traditional automakers to phase out the production of fossil-fueled powered cars in favor of EVs. The U.S. government has allocated $5 billion of the $1 trillion federal infrastructure bill to help create a national network of EV stations.

In another development, Volkswagen revealed the ID. AERO – a concept of its future of electric sedans – will go into production worldwide in early 2023.

As Volkswagen’s global ID. family of EVs continues to expand with growth more than doubling in 2021 year over year, the auto giant is set for a momentous long run.

The ID family currently includes EVs like the ID.3, ID.4, ID.5 GTX and the ID.6 in China. The ID. Buzz minibus/cargo van is just beginning to ramp up production.

The vehicles form part of Volkswagen’s ACCELERATE strategy to bolster EV adoption and aim for net-zero emissions and be climate-neutral across the entire company chain by 2050. The strategy also targets to include a new BEV model each year through 2026.

Volkswagen’s ID lineup lacked an all-electric sedan until the automaker unveiled the ID. AERO concept.

The newest car comes with an extremely aerodynamic design, a range of more than 600 kilometers, an extraordinary amount of space and a premium interior. With the ACCELERATE strategy, the company is intensively driving forward the electrification of the model range. Following the ID.4, this model will be the company’s next global car for Europe, China and the United States.

Per the company, the ID. AERO electric sedan will be available in two different versions in China, one manufactured by each of Volkswagen’s joint ventures abroad.

The newest sedan is sure to boost the company’s foothold in the EV space.

Shares of WAGY have lost 37.7% over the past year compared to its industry’s 27.3% decline.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

VWAGY carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), currently.

Some better-ranked players in the auto space are Wabash National Corporation WNC and Genuine Parts GPC, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Wabash National has an expected earnings growth rate of 239.3% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has remained constant in the past 30 days.

Wabash National’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed in one. WNC pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 51.26%, on average. The stock has declined 9.4% over the past year.

Genuine Parts has an expected earnings growth rate of 13.6% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has remained constant in the past 30 days.

Genuine Parts’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters. GPC pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.34%, on average. The stock has gained 9.2% over the past year.


Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Genuine Parts Company (GPC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Wabash National Corporation (WNC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Siemens AG (SIEGY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Volkswagen AG Unsponsored ADR (VWAGY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research