We recently published a list of 12 Best EV Stocks To Buy in 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ:LI) stands against other best EV stocks to buy in 2025.
Electric cars, often known as electric vehicles or EVs, are automobiles powered by electricity instead of gas. Electric car stocks are comprised of companies that primarily manufacture electric vehicles. Firms that make components for electric vehicles, such as batteries or autonomous driving systems, are also regarded as part of the electric vehicle industry.
President Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported automobiles have officially come into force, affecting roughly half of the US auto industry. According to S&P Global Mobility estimates, 46% of the 16 million automobiles sold in the United States in 2024 were not produced domestically. The policy also includes tariffs on specified vehicle parts, including engines and transmissions, which will go into effect on May 3.
Wall Street analysts and investors have been skeptical of the tariffs, which some say might reduce business earnings and plunge the automobile industry into a recession.
Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska stated in a recent note to investors:
“A 25% on automotive imports lasting beyond four to six weeks would likely have a chilling effect on the entire sector as [automakers] need to grapple with significant impact to the bottom line.”
Wall Street analysts believe that automakers’ and suppliers’ equities will remain volatile in the near term. The most vulnerable businesses are those with high import ratios. Several companies saw more than 60% of their U.S. sales in 2024 come from vehicles manufactured outside of the United States. Meanwhile, companies with all-U.S. final assembly lines and minimal dependence on imports, especially in the EV industry, are projected to be more secure.
In the first quarter, U.S. auto sales exceeded industry forecasts by a wide margin as buyers rushed to purchase new cars before the tariffs went into effect, which many believe will raise car prices. According to S&P Global Mobility’s tariff analysis, the costs of importing vehicles, auto manufacturing in the US, and consumer vehicle costs will all rise.
Analysts warn that if tariffs are completely implemented, typical new car prices, which are currently around $48,000, might rise by up to $10,000. Lower-margin, entry-level vehicles are more vulnerable to price increases or discontinuation since they are often sourced from low-cost countries and are prone to margin compression under the new tariff regime.
Specifically, China’s car exports are under strain as US tariff hikes impact major overseas markets. Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), stated:
“The abrupt hike in U.S. tariffs will have a disastrous impact on economies such as Southeast Asia, and thus our exports to these markets will be impacted more than expected.”
March exports dipped 8% year on year, following a rise of 11% in February. Joint ventures and luxury brands suffered a 45% decline, exporting only 47,000 units. Exports from Shanghai-based EV facilities fell 82.4% in March to 4,701 units, while first-quarter exports fell 56.9% to 38,147 vehicles. The China Passenger Car Association fears that Southeast Asia, which is significantly touched by new US tariffs, may witness a decline in demand. Export growth was originally projected to slow to 10% in 2025, down from 25% in 2024, but this could potentially fall. Domestic sales surged by 14.4% to 1.97 million units in March and 6.1% to 5.18 million in the first quarter.
A fleet of electric vehicles lined up in front of a rumbling renewable energy production facility.
Methodology
We sifted through EV ETFs and online rankings to form an initial list of the 20 Best EV stocks. From the resultant dataset, we chose 12 stocks with the highest number of hedge fund investors, using Insider Monkey’s database of 1,009 hedge funds in Q4 2024 to gauge hedge fund sentiment for stocks.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ:LI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 28
Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ:LI) is China’s top manufacturer of new energy vehicles (NEVs), developing plug-in hybrid electric sport utility vehicles (SUVs) for family use. The firm invested heavily in its range-extension powertrain, which has become a key selling factor for its affordable automobiles. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs, are significantly less expensive than battery electric vehicles, or BEVs, because they utilize fewer batteries.
Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ:LI) remains one of the Best EV Stocks due to its explosive growth path. In Q4 2024, the firm supplied over 158,000 vehicles, establishing a new quarterly record. Full-year deliveries exceeded 500,000 units, making it the first emerging NEV and Chinese premium auto brand to achieve this milestone. Total deliveries in 2023 were over 373,000, showing a 35% rise in sales even as other EV stocks struggled. One key reason for this is its premium appeal, with the Li AD Max accounting for more than 80% of orders in China for models priced above $55,000.
Jefferies boosted Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ:LI)’s price objective to $37.20 from $31 and maintained its Buy recommendation on the stock. According to the analyst’s research note, the company “has more cards to play” in the second half of the year, and the market has yet to price in its artificial intelligence goals. The company believes that the recent resurgence of Mega sales is a result of Li’s “early mover strategy” in the widespread installation of supercharging stations on roads.
Overall, LI ranks 7th on our list of the 12 Best EV Stocks To Buy in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of EV companies, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LI but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
