Rivian, NIO, And Nikola Placed at the Top of the Electric Car Upstart Leaderboard

As many start ups as we have seen in recent years, we have seen just as many fade away. Most likely due to the fact of how expensive and difficult making EVS is.

Some of the major players that have beaten the odds and continued their success as EV manufacturers include Rivian, Nikola, Lucid Motors, and Fisker. Although not as successful, names such as Xpeng, Weltmeister, and BYTON are also worthy contenders.

Guidehouse Insights new leaderboard report revealed that Rivian, NIO, and Nikola are the only clear “Leaders.” The 3 frontrunners are followed by “Contenders” and “Challengers.” 

Manufacturers found in the 3rd through 10th positions are labeled as contenders. Start ups that didn’t find themselves on the top 10 list, are referred to as Challengers. Some of these names include Bollinger, Faraday, Atlis, Rimac, and Karma. These companies have been analyzed and compared across differentiation, go-to-market strategy, partners, investments, geographic reach, performance, portfolio, marketing, innovation, and staying power.  After evaluating 21 electric vehicle start ups The firm’s top 10 list is as seen below:

1. Rivian
2. NIO
3. Nikola
4. Xpeng
5. Weltmeister
6. BYTON
7. AIWAYS
8. Canoo
9. Arrival
10. Lucid Motors

Scott Shephard, Senior research analyst with Guidehouse Insights, told Green Car Reports “Leading upstarts have distinguished themselves within the industry in a first mover capacity and have either deployed EVs or are near to deployment. Rivian is a first mover in the North American pickup truck market and has secured significant partners and investors including Ford and Amazon, while NIO has produced the most vehicles of all competitors and has innovated solutions for battery swapping and mobile charging services. Nikola is the only competitor among those examined in this report looking to deploy both FCVs and BEVs.”

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