Source: Proterra Website
Proterra builds buses, but they are well-known for their battery technology. Customers using their battery tech include Thomas Built Bus, Van Hool, FCCC, Optimal-EV and Bustech. Recently they have expanded to other vehicles: school buses, delivery trucks, shuttle buses, coach buses and garbage trucks.
Proterra is a private company. That means I can’t invest in them… yet. In July Reuters reported that Proterra was considering going public via a merger with a blank-check company – i.e. a SPAC. The story said Proterra had discussed possible deals with “several SPACs”.
This would not be surprising. SPAC’s have become a common way for EV companies to go public. But many (cough – Nikola – cough) have turned out to be smoke and mirrors.
Proterra is not in that category--it's a real business. Forbes estimated that Proterra had revenue of $200 million in 2019.
Proterra has made inroads into Canada. Toronto, Ottawa and Edmonton have all purchased buses from Proterra. Toronto was the first Canadian city, putting 25 Proterra buses on the road last year. Edmonton announced a 40 bus EV fleet deployment in July.
Note the picture above is for LARGE buses. My small cap EV bus stock makes smaller EV buses, which will be in much greater demand post-COVID as ridership has fallen so much.
In the $200 million funding this week, Proterra was valued at $1 billion. I think this funding takes the SPAC route off the table for Proterra for now, and they will almost certainly stay private. But if all that Big Money is so keen on the sector, I think they'll be impressed with my small cap EV bus stock. Like Proterra, it has revenue and EBITDA and a big growth path right in front of it.
Electric Buses – Still a Long Way to Grow
Proterra is in the right market at the right time. Going the electric with buses makes a lot of sense. Routes of a fixed length. Overnight charging.
Yet electric buses have so far only scraped the surface of their market potential.
China is a leader, with a fleet of over 400,000. But in the United States, that number pales – only about 600 electric buses are in operation.
Electric buses make up only 0.1% of the public transportation fleet in the U.S.
This is a big, untapped market for electric bus manufacturers.
I like the space so much that I put a new player in the space in our InvestingWhisperer portfolio just last week. This company has revenue and EBITDA--it's not a dream. (This company is NOT Greenpower, GPV-TSXv, which soared from $2-$30 in months this year. But I sure think it has the potential trade like GPV!)
I expect a very steady stream of positive news flow for my EV bus company. They have a great shot at $60 million revenue this year, and I'm expecting 50% growth next year with a HUGE jump in EBITDA along with that.
This sector is red hot. This stock has not run up big yet. Fundamentals are improving rapidly. Get the name and symbol of this company--along with my full report...