Prior to today, competitors (yet frenemies) like Kandi Technologies Group Inc. (NASDAQ:KNDI) and Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) could only wonder what kind of traction that electric vehicle maker Green Automotive Co. (OTCMKTS:GACR) has been getting, with most of the pieces of its revenue puzzle not being laid until the latter half of last year. TSLA and KNDI don't have to wait any longer, however, as GACR put it all out there today. While it might be overdoing it to say Kandi Technologies or Tesla should be worried about the kinds of results - and the kind of growth - Green Automotive is getting, it wouldn't be inaccurate to say GACR's numbers are something the rest of the EV industry should take note of.... this little player is coming on strong.
While Tesla Motors certainly needs no introduction, and Kandi Technologies Group doesn't need much of one (the company makes tiny electric vehicles that are handy but not highway legal in the U.S., mainly to serve the Chinese market), Green Automotive Co. might need something of an explanation. It's a company that could very easily be the next great electric vehicle name, but so far has kept its focus on serving as a retailer of other company's electric vehicles in the UK, as a repair shop for EVs in the same market, and as a builder/designer of shuttle buses in the United States; the electric bus market is by far the company's biggest opportunity - and opportunity that it panning out too, according to this morning's quarterly filing.
All told, last quarter, GACR generated $1.4 million in sales. No, it's not a lot, but it's a lot for this particular $10.9 million company. Not only was it a record-breaker, but it was the third straight quarter of rising revenue, validating all of the initiatives and acquisitions Green Automotive Co. implemented last year. Sequentially, GACR grew revenue from $218K in the first quarter of 2013 to $429K in the second quarter to $1.0 million in Q3 to the fourth quarter's top line of $1.4 million. If there was any doubt that Green Automotive was the real deal, the persistent growth pace should have put them to bed by now.
With all of that being said, there's a critical - and compelling - footnote that needs to be added to the Green Automotive story - the bulk of that sales growth is attributable to sales of electric busus. Thing is, even the fourth quarter's top line doesn't do the electric shuttle bus opportunity its due justice.
Though it didn't start Q4 out at this pace, by the end of the fourth quarter, Green Automotive - through its Newport Coachworks subsidiary - was building electric buses at a pace of 2 per week. That's uncanny, given that the manufacture of electric shuttle buses didn't begin at all until March. At 2 busus per week at an estimated average retail price of $100,000 apiece, the Newport Coachworks division alone is capable of generating $2.6 million in quarterly revenue. The company, however, has two other key divisions with which it can also drive sales.... its Goin' Green retail network, and its Liberty E-care EV maintenance division.
And yes, those buses are highly marketable. The company sold fourteen electric shuttle buses at the February limousine and charter show in Las Vegas, in their public debut; more orders may have trickled in since then. Bigger and better still, the current backlog of buses to be built stands just shy of (and this isn't a misprint) 500. That's guaranteed revenue for at least a few years.
Green Automotive noted in today's press release that it was going to offer some more details and a revenue forecast for 2014 later this week. That will add some color to today's news, though even with the data that investors gleaned today, it's clear that GACR is making strong forward progress.
For more on Green Automotive Co., visit the SCN research page here, or review the SCN research report here. For deeper details on GACR and its EV opportunities, this report from Wall Street Research takes a much closer look.
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