22 Growing Electric Car Companies & Startups (2024)
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Electric vehicles have long been hailed as a potential savior from climate change, a cleaner way to commute around major cities, and an effective solution to weaning the world off of fossil fuels.
A total estimated market size of $1.5T with an expected CAGR of 17.8% by 2030 shows how strong the belief is that EVs will become more prevalent as the underlying technology continues to improve and evolve.
We’ve assembled a carefully crafted list of some of the most innovative, exciting EV startups and major players located across North America, Europe, and Asia.
Read below and check out our list of the top EV companies worldwide.
1. Canoo
5-year search growth: 725%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2018
Location: Torrance, CA
Stock Ticker: GOEV
What they do: Fresh off a selection by NASA to be the official vehicle supplier of the first human lunar landing in more than 50 years, California-based Canoo has grown quickly since their inception in 2018.
Featuring a team of more than 350 leading automotive and technology experts, Canoo is positioning itself to be a leader in the rapidly expanding EV space.
2. Polestar
5-year search growth: 414%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 1996
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Stock Ticker: PSNY
What they do: Polestar originated as Volvo’s in-house incubator for high-performance EVs and a lab for testing performance trims for their standard Volvo line of vehicles. In 2017, Polestar spun off with a mandate to create world class EVs under their own badge and name.
3. Fisker
5-year search growth: 1,900%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2016
Location: Los Angeles, California
Stock Ticker: FSR
What they do: The release of the Fisker Ocean marks the first of a wave of new models of EVs being released into the market from an ever growing list of EV manufacturers.
Fisker’s flagship model sports an estimated 250-mile range, and a 17-inch center touchscreen (similar to Tesla’s). Fisker’s previous iteration was the Fisker Karma, which went bankrupt due to battery supply issues. Fisker is now poised for sustained success according to founder Henrik Fisker.
4. WeaveGrid
5-year search growth: 1,800%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2018
Location: San Francisco, California
Funding: $50M (Series B)
What they do: WeaveGrid’s software helps modernize old electrical grid infrastructure to prepare cities for the incoming dramatic increase in the amount of EV vehicles hitting the road over the next few years.
5. Freewire Technologies
5-year search growth: -100%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2014
Location: San Francisco, California
Funding: $259.4M (Series Unknown)
What they do: Freewire’s “ultrafast” line of chargers allow for easy replacement of older, slower chargers and Level 2 EV chargers that take much longer to fully charge a customer’s vehicle. Featuring a list of clients that use their chargers in parking lots including AmPm, Oklahoma Aquarium, Netflix, and Adobe, Freewire was recently named one of the 10 most innovative companies in transportation by Fast Company.
6. Rad Power Bikes
5-year search growth: 65%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2007
Location: Seattle, Washington
Funding: $329.3M (Series D)
What they do: E-bikes have exploded in popularity since the pandemic started, with e-bikes outselling electric cars and riding a wave of momentum as they potentially change the future of urban transport.
Rad has taken the playbook from many other successful DTC companies and offers up their stylish, sleek electric bikes directly from their website. Transparent pricing and easy to understand purchase options have helped propel the Seattle-based startup into the US’s largest purveyor of electric bikes.
7. Vinfast
5-year search growth: 208%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2017
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Stock Ticker: VFS
What they do: Most of the EV companies featured on this list are located in North America or Europe. But Vinfast is South East Asia’s answer to quality EV vehicles. In 2019, Vinfast launched their first three models that quickly became the market leader in all three segments in Vietnam.
The startup is planning to invest up to $6.5B in US EV production capabilities.
8. Volta Charging
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2010
Location: San Francisco, California
Stock Ticker: VLTA
What they do: Since 2010, Volta has been an early purveyor of electric chargers across the United States. The SF based company cleverly implemented large LED flatscreens on their charging units, allowing them to sell valuable space to advertisers while customers charge their cars.
9. Aptiv
5-year search growth: 47%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2008
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Stock Ticker: APTV
What they do: Instead of focusing on building and manufacturing EVs, Aptiv’s approach is mastering the software and networking behind the next generation of electric vehicles. A diverse product line includes software ranging from safety to autonomy. The Dublin company’s goal is to be the leader in end-to-end solutions that power the future of transportation.
10. Zoox
5-year search growth: 67%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2014
Location: Foster City, California
Funding: $1B (Convertible Note)
What they do:Zoox, an EV startup within Amazon, lives by the slogan “the future is for riders”. Their autonomous EV vehicles were designed with the goal of creating safer streets, preventing driver error (94% of crashes are driver error), and allowing folks to shuttle around seamlessly without having to focus on the road.
Instead of trying to compete with the countless other EV manufacturers, Zoox is creating their own class of vehicle. In 2020, the startup merged with Amazon giving it near limitless resources to execute on its mission.
11. Hyzon Motors
5-year search growth: 2,100%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2019
Location: Honeoye, New York
Stock Ticker: HYZN
What they do: Hyzon Motors has their sights set on tackling the enormous problem of C02 emissions coming from the trucking industry as a whole (26% of worldwide C02 emissions).
Hydrogen powered vehicles with fuel cell tech have long been the holy grail of what vehicles could eventually be propelled by, but costs and innovation just hampered adoption. Hyzon’s proprietary technology optimizes the flow of hydrogen to where electricity is generated. The result is a promising new EV company poised to make a splash in the future.
12. Rivian
5-year search growth: 667%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2009
Location: Plymouth, Michigan
Stock Ticker: RIVN
What they do: Rivian was founded in 2009 as the early answer to Tesla. Growing their business around the idea of a “skateboard chassis” that can support numerous types of different EVs, Rivian then focused on creating electric adventure vehicles and a green mission to be environmentally friendly.
Rivian raised over $13B after their IPO in 2021 which further cemented its reputation as a potential contender to Tesla’s dominance.
13. Atlis Motor Vehicles
5-year search growth: -80%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2016
Location: Mesa, Arizona
Stock Ticker: AMV
What they do: Instead of targeting the broad, mainstream market with electric vehicles in an increasingly crowded field, Atlis is focusing solely on electronic trucks. Specifically, converting existing gas and diesel trucks to electric.
Proprietary battery technology with patents pending are what the startup is banking on to set them apart in the EV space.
14. ChargePoint
5-year search growth: 235%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2007
Location: Campbell, California
Stock Ticker: CHPT
What they do: If EVs are ever going to become the de facto vehicle of choice, the world requires a robust network of reliable charging stations. Operating in more than 10 countries, ChargePoint operates the largest independent chain of EV charging stations in the world.
ChargePoint reached 100K chargers in 2019, and continues to add more than 2,000 chargers a month. They’ve installed chargers inside both of Disney’s US theme parks as they continue to expand their reach.
15. Zenobe Energy
5-year search growth: 29%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2017
Location: London, U.K.
Funding: $1.8B (Private Equity)
What they do: The UK’s largest independent owner of battery storage is London-based Zenobe. 25% of UK’s e-bus market runs on Zenobe batteries with lofty aims of 3,000 e-buses by 2025.
Established in 2017, Zenobe’s target is to save over 1 million tons of CO2 per year and over 92M liters of diesel annually.
16. Mullen Technologies
5-year search growth: -100%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2020
Location: Brea, California
Stock Ticker: MULN
What they do: Mullen is aiming to compete with Tesla to be a gold standard, All-American producer of next generation electric vehicles. Their first planned vehicle, the Mullen Five, is a stylish electric SUV crossover.
17. Sila Nanotechnologies
5-year search growth: -63%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2011
Location: Alameda, California
Funding: $980.5M (Grant)
What they do: 100+ patents filed, 55,000 material iterations, and over 10 years of chemistry innovation. Those are stats that California based Sila boasts as they continue to refine their silicon based batteries. Traditional batteries are largely made of lithium, which comes with significant limitations.
Sila has already partnered with consumer tech companies like Whoop (fitness bands), because of the smaller size and power gains that come from Sila’s design.
18. Proterra
5-year search growth: 35%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2004
Location: Burlingame, California
Symbol: PTRA
What they do: Proterra designs electric buses that are charged via overhead charging stations. The company received a large investment via Daimler in 2018, totaling $155M.
Proterra claims to have sold over 370 buses to clients from different transit arms of state government, corporate companies, and universities.
19. Open Motors
5-year search growth: 10%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2013
Location: Palo Alto, California
Funding: $120K (Seed)
What they do: Check out Open Motor’s website and you’ll quickly notice how they lead with the quote “the era of classic car manufacturers is over”, mentioned by Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess in 2020.
Open Motors lets anyone design electric, modular vehicles via their open source software and even earned an investment from Y Combinator and renowned investor Sam Altman.
20. VOOL
5-year search growth: 36%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2018
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
Funding: $5M (Seed Round)
What they do: VOOL is an electric vehicle charging startup that offers cost-efficient charging hardware, a mobile app, and integrated software for charger management. Their primary charger product can be installed at home or in public areas and managed through the VOOL online portal. Each VOOL system can support up to 64 VOOL chargers.
21. Ola Electric
5-year search growth: 2,700%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2017
Location: Bengaluru, India
Stock Symbol: RMO
What they do: India accounts for the largest amount of sales of two-wheel vehicles, with over 80% of vehicles sold in India being two wheelers. Despite their small size, these vehicles are responsible for 40% of the pollution in India. Ola’s focus is purely on dominating the two wheeler market with their all electric, appealing scooters.
Ola’s playbook closely resembles Tesla but tailored for the Indian market. A DTC website with mobile ordering lets customers choose a trim level, color, and custom features for their S1 or other models.
22. Tesla
5-year search growth: 53%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2003
Location: Austin, Texas
Symbol: TSLA
What they do: Very few companies on Earth have attracted as much attention and discussion as Tesla. Elon Musk has established a blueprint for building a brand new car company from scratch, featuring large touch screens, minimal interior features, and treating Tesla vehicles as software programs with a hardware exterior.
Tesla has pioneered innovations (like ongoing software updates) that often mimics tech companies more than traditional automakers.
Conclusion
As climate concerns and a sharp focus on cleaner transportation continue to garner significant worldwide attention, keep an eye on this list of innovative EV companies as they scale, grow, and ship in an effort to become the de facto mode of transportation worldwide.
