Now that the world is embracing electric vehicles (EVs), many investors are ready for self-driving technology to advance. While you’re seeing some form of autonomous driving in passenger cars today, the real breakthrough for EVs may come from commercial vehicles. That’s why it may be a good time to speculate on autonomous trucking stocks.
The reason why many trucking companies are exploring autonomous technology is asset utilization. Simply, an autonomous truck doesn’t need sleep to drive safely. Also, because they would be programmed to drive at the speed limit and to avoid situations that could result in hard braking (e.g., tailgating) they may reduce maintenance costs. This is critical for middle-mile transportation between distribution hubs on different sides of the United States.
Many startups dotted the landscape of this industry in 2019 and 2020. And many of those companies are struggling to stay in business as timelines expand and budgets shrink. That’s the risk in a sector that’s going to have technological as well as regulatory hurdles to overcome. Nevertheless, here are three autonomous trucking stocks that may be worth a speculative investment.
Daimler Truck (DTRUY)
Daimler Truck (OTCMKTS:DTRUY) is a subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz (OTCMKTS:MBGYY) that recently unveiled a demonstrator that — according to the company — will pave the way to fully driverless middle-mile freight hauling by 2027. The company is partnering with Waymo as well as its own Torc subsidiary to launch the eCascadia trucks, which will initially cover routes in the Southwest United States.
Many analysts don’t expect to see companies launching autonomous trucks until 2030 or even later. That would give Daimler a nice first-mover advantage, which is an opportunity that investors can seize.
And the eCascadia isn’t the only recent announcement to come from Daimler Truck. The company also announced the formation of a joint venture with Volvo (OTCMKTS:VLVLY) to develop, among other things, a dedicated truck operating system.
The announcement sent DTRUY stock soaring to nearly $26 a share in March 2024. Since then, it’s fallen back approximately 20%, which should remind investors that this is still a volatile industry. The stock has only been trading publicly since 2021 and is up approximately 7% since that time.
Aeva (AEVA)
One of the key hurdles for autonomous trucks, and autonomous vehicle technology in general, has to do with safety. Any investors in this space are familiar with LiDAR technology. Aeva (NYSE:AEVA) takes this one step further with its proprietary 4D sensory solution.
The idea behind the technology is that the vehicles will not just view their surroundings. Rather, through the use of advanced algorithms, the software can provide a form of predictive analysis to anticipate where an object may move in space and time. Daimler Truck will be the first company to have AEVA sensors on the road.
This is a tiny company with just a $198.70 million market cap. It has very little revenue and it’s not profitable. But, 63% of its stock is owned by institutional investors. That’s not nothing.
However, some investors undoubtedly got burned if they bought this stock close to when it went public in 2020. The stock is down 95% since then. But twice in the last 12 months, AEVA stock has bounced off a bottom around its 52-week low. If you’re willing to take a long position, now could be a great time to land a potential multi-bagger.
Aptiv (APTV)
As autonomous trucking stocks go, Aptiv (NYSE:APTV) is primarily involved in the last-mile commercial vehicle space. This is a growing area because it removes some of the challenges found with long-distance trucking. Per its website, the company “designs, engineers and manufactures a comprehensive line of high-quality and innovative connectors and connection systems for various industries and product segments.”
Among those is autonomous driving technology. The company is engaged in a growth through acquisition strategy allowing it to expand its capabilities and product offerings.
That strategy is paying off in the company’s revenue and earnings, which continue to increase year-over-year. Still, suppressed demand for EVs has APTV stock down more than 34% in the last year. That could present investors with a great buying opportunity. That’s the opinion of analysts who have a consensus Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $94.96, more than 29% higher than the closing price on July 16.
On the date of publication, Chris Markoch did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
On the date of publication, the responsible editor did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
