For years electric vehicles were the auto industry’s most significant growth story.
That story has become more complicated.
Demand has been patchy. Losses have stung. Car producers have been compelled to re-evaluate how swiftly they should invest in battery factories, electric lorries and software-heavy automobiles.
Now, Bank of America sees a different kind of potential emerging from that same industrial foundation.
The timing is everything. The artificial intelligence explosion is presenting a big electrical dilemma for technology companies, utilities and industrial suppliers.
The International Energy Agency estimates that global electricity consumption by data centers will roughly double to about 945 terawatt-hours by 2030. The agency aelectricity use in data centersctricity use to grow about 15% annually from 2024 through 2030, more than four times faster than electricity demand from all other sectors.
This brings us to Ford (F) and its energy-storage push.
BofA sees Ford Energy as a possible growth story outside of a typical car industry that’s likely to grow considerably more slowly and might provide around $400 million to $500 million of earnings before interest and taxes at scale.
Ford stock gets a new energy storage angle
Ford is known for its trucks, sport utility vehicles and commercial vehicles.
But one of Ford’s most attractive development pathways may now be outside the traditional auto sector, BofA said.
Ford has a plausible path to scaling battery energy storage systems since it currently possesses the manufacturing capability, supply-chain depth, and commercial reach. Those benefits count in a market where customers are demanding power on the double.
Ford has previously done so.
Ford Motor Co.’s Ford Energy unit will provide U.S.-assembled battery energy storage solutions to utilities, data centers and large industrial and commercial customers, the company said. The company said it expects to ship at least 20 GWh per year and expects to make its first client deliveries in late 2027.
It provides Ford with a more obvious non-auto purpose for battery assets at a time when the electric vehicle market is proving challenging.
BofA thinks Ford Energy could generate between $400 million and $500 million of earnings before interest and taxes at scale. In the base case, the firm predicts around $446 million of EBIT at 20 gigawatt-hours of capacity.
That equation includes the tax-credit angle.
Battery cells and battery modules are battery components that are eligible for the federal requirements for the advanced manufacturing production credit. The final regulations provide for a credit of $35 per kilowatt-hour of capacity for a battery cell and $10 per kilowatt-hour of capacity for a battery module that contains cells.
“A key emerging theme is automotive companies leveraging their industrial footprint to expand into faster growing end markets,” BofA analysts wrote.
Ford shares recently traded at $13.36, valuing the automaker at around $54.4 billion. BofA has set a price target of $20 for Ford.
Related: Ford CEO makes USMCA demands clear amid negotiations
BorgWarner stock gets data center power story
BorgWarner offers investors a distinct perspective on the same issue.
BorgWarner is a big auto supplier, but BofA says it could have one of the more tangible near-term prospects connected to data center power requirements.
That’s due to TurboCell.
In February, BorgWarner stated it inked a master supply deal with TurboCell, a subsidiary of data center infrastructure developer Endeavour, to provide a highly flexible turbine generator system. The solution is expected to meet artificial intelligence-driven data center demand and microgrid applications, BorgWarner stated.
The turbine generator system is expected to support AI campuses at gigawatt scale and provide backup and prime power, the company stated. BorgWarner also stated the system is planned to operate on a number of fuels, including natural gas, propane, diesel and hydrogen.
This development is important because data center operators could need faster alternatives to traditional electricity infrastructure, BofA says.
The IEA made a similar point in its AI energy study, stating data centers may be operational in two to three years, whereas larger energy infrastructure often takes longer planning and building timeframes.
That gap is where BorgWarner’s modular system could matter.
Key takeaways from BofA’s auto power call
- Ford Motor (F) could use battery manufacturing capacity to pursue energy storage demand.
- Ford Energy plans to deploy at least 20 gigawatt-hours annually, with first customer deliveries planned for late 2027.
- BofA estimates Ford Energy could contribute roughly $400 million to $500 million of EBIT at scale.
- BorgWarner (BWA) is pushing into data center power generation through TurboCell.
- BofA estimates BorgWarner’s opportunity could add about $400 million of EBIT at full utilization.
- The IEA expects global data center electricity consumption to roughly double by 2030.
- General Motors (GM) and Aptiv (APTV) also have non-auto opportunities, but BofA sees Ford and BorgWarner as more immediate power-related stories.
BofA thinks that BorgWarner’s opportunity may add around $400 million of EBIT at full utilization of two gigawatts. Its base-case scenario expects $4.2 billion of revenue, 65% of which is BorgWarner content capture and $410 million of EBIT.
This would be a substantial growth engine for a corporation still intimately tied to auto production cycles.
Borg Warner’s shares last traded at $63.52, giving the business a market worth of nearly $13.2 billion. The article said BofA has a $78 price target for BorgWarner.
General Motors and Aptiv show the wider auto pivot
Ford and Borg Warner may be the most obvious power-related names in BofA’s analysis, but they are not the only automakers aiming to shift away from vehicles.
BofA sees a stronger near-term opportunity in defense for GM.
In June, GM Defense and Lockheed Martin (LMT) said they will work together to enhance America’s manufacturing and defense industrial base in a memorandum of understanding. The firms said the collaboration will focus on defense supply chains, manufacturing and design capabilities, and exploring ways to boost production capacity using commercial manufacturing knowledge and infrastructure.
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That backs up BofA’s broader point: auto businesses have scale, manufacturing discipline and supplier networks that could matter in capacity-constrained markets.
Shares of General Motors were last trading at $76, valuing the firm at around $70.4 billion. BofA has a price goal of $106 on GM, the report said.
Aptiv is far ahead in non-auto markets.
Aptiv had revenue of $5.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 5% year-over-year, while adjusted EBITDA was $752 million. Also, the business said its projection for full year 2026 for “New Aptiv” is net revenues of $12.8 billion to $13.2 billion.
Shares of Aptiv were last changing hands for $58.89, giving the business a market worth of around $12.6 billion.
That offers Aptiv a more mature non-auto profile than Ford or BorgWarner, but BofA’s Ford and BorgWarner calls are more directly linked to the data-center power bottleneck.
Bill Pugliano / Getty Images
The bigger problem is that auto manufacturing is unlikely to rise anywhere near as fast as electricity demand for data centers.
BofA cited S&P predictions of approximately 1% compound annual growth in global auto output through 2030. This compares with the IEA’s projection that electricity consumption in data centers will climb roughly 15% per year between 2024 and 2030.
That imbalance gives a significant incentive for automakers and suppliers to look for development outside the vehicle cycle.
The opportunity always carries risk.
Ford still has to prove it can attract consumers, ramp up manufacturing, and capture tax-credit benefits. BorgWarner needs to show that its turbine generator system can move from being a promising technology to generating real revenue and profit.
But it’s simple reasoning.
Artificial intelligence is not merely altering software. It’s transforming demand for physical infrastructure, including power generation, batteries and industrial capacity.
That offers car manufacturers a new opportunity.
Ford has the potential to convert battery capacity into a storage company. BorgWarner: Turning turbo knowledge into power for data centers. It uses production and engineering scale in defense, aerospace, datacom and industrial markets for GM and Aptiv.
Cars and trucks might still be in the auto business.
But BofA says some of the next major stock catalysts may come from anything automakers can develop that isn’t a vehicle.
Related: Ford recognized for addressing stubborn quality issue