While Green Automotive Co. (OTCMKTS:GACR) is certainly no Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:NSANY) or Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (FRA:BMW) (better known as BMW) in terms of size or notoriety, the two larger car companies certainly seem to be validating the work that GACR is doing. Both Nissan and BMW are betting big on electric vehicles, partly because they want to, and partly because they have to. Either way, Green Automotive is just as capable of tapping into this EV megatrend as its bigger and more established brothers are.
For those not familiar, Green Automotive is a young and highly diversified electric vehicle player. It's got a dealership network (for several manufacturers) in the U.K. through its Goin' Green arm, an electric vehicle maintenance and repair division vie its Liberty subsidiary, and its Newport Coachworks brand makes electric shuttle buses from the ground up. They're a big hit too, as noted in this morning's press release. And more recently, through its purchase of Blackhawk - the supplier of fiberglass body parts for its Newport Coachworks division - it now controls its supply chain for that fastest-growing and arguably most important division. It's conceivable that Blackhwawk could fabricate fiberglass body parts for any kind of vehicle that Green Automotive Co. could aim to build, which leaves one to ponder what would happen if GACR decided to go toe-to-toe with an electric car maker like Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), or perhaps become the Tesla of Europe, where TSLA isn't well established... where the EV market is still up for grabs.
Just for the record though, Green Automotive isn't going to just have to worry about Tesla in the foreseeable future. The aforementioned Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Nissan Motor Co. are both planning on wading at least waist deep into the electric vehicle market, and soon.
Earlier this month, Nissan reported they expect to sell 1.5 million electric vehicles by 2020, mostly by tapping into emerging markets. It's a big number, but not unattainable. The company has sold 100,000 units of its Leaf electric vehicle (would the plural be Leaves?) since its somewhat limited launch in 2010.
Meanwhile, Bayerische Motoren Werke, or BMW, reported earlier this month that it believes it can sell 100,000 electric vehicles in Europe alone, by 2020. Given that its electric i3 was sold out pretty quickly after debuting in Europe late last year, it's not a tough goal to believe.
More important to Green Automotive Co. and GACR shareholders, the fact that Nissan and BMW are upping the ante on EVs bodes well for smaller newcomers. How so? If the bigger players are willing to stick their neck out on a still-unproven idea, then they're confident that electric vehicles are the future (and companies like Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Nissan Motor don't make bets based purely on hope - their planners and strategists have thought things through before any money was committed). That rising tide is apt to lift all boats of all sizes, including a small player like Green Automotive. Indeed, a small, nimble company like Green Automotive may actually outmaneuver its bigger peers as the EV industry fully matures.
Bottom line? While Green Automotive Co. may still be the kid brother of the EV industry, it's growing up fast, and there's going to be plenty of opportunity for all of these companies to thrive over the next ten years as new mileage and emission mandates become reality. Those mandates, like the United States' requirement that combustion vehicles be capable of getting 55 miles per gallon by 2025, are going to be tough for traditional carmakers to make. Indeed, those cars may be prohibitively expensive, if they're available at all. Electric cars may well become the norm, not just here in the United States, but as similar laws are implemented globally over the next decade or so. That puts GACR in the catbird's seat, as it's best-equipped to make (and service) all electric cars and buses that will meet the new mandates.
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