Sectors & IndustriesConsumer CyclicalAuto Manufacturers

Best Auto Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top auto stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best auto stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best car stocks to buy right now are:

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) is the #1 top auto stock out of 33 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) is: Value: A, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: D, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) has a Due Diligence Score of 46, which is 22 points higher than the auto industry average of 24.

BLBD passed 15 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Blue Bird has seen its stock return 18.76% over the past year, overperforming other auto stocks by 50 percentage points.

Blue Bird has an average 1 year price target of $68.25, an upside of 42.63% from Blue Bird's current stock price of $47.85.

Blue Bird stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Blue Bird, 75% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 25% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Niu Technologies (NASDAQ:NIU) is the #2 top auto stock out of 33 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Niu Technologies (NASDAQ:NIU) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: D, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Niu Technologies (NASDAQ:NIU) has a Due Diligence Score of 22, which is -2 points lower than the auto industry average of 24. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates NIU as a "B".

NIU passed 7 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Niu Technologies has seen its stock return 97.14% over the past year, overperforming other auto stocks by 128 percentage points.

Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F) is the #3 top auto stock out of 33 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F) has a Due Diligence Score of 46, which is 22 points higher than the auto industry average of 24.

F passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Ford Motor Co has seen its stock return 47.84% over the past year, overperforming other auto stocks by 79 percentage points.

Ford Motor Co has an average 1 year price target of $13.00, a downside of -9.72% from Ford Motor Co's current stock price of $14.40.

Ford Motor Co stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 11 analysts covering Ford Motor Co, 18.18% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 72.73% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 9.09% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 2 auto stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 2 auto stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F) has an annual dividend yield of 4.17%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the auto industry average of 2.42%. Ford Motor Co's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% seven times in the last 10 years. Ford Motor Co's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Ford Motor Co's dividend payout ratio of 63.6% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

General Motors Co (NYSE:GM) has an annual dividend yield of 0.67%, which is -2 percentage points lower than the auto industry average of 2.42%. General Motors Co's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. General Motors Co's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

General Motors Co's dividend payout ratio of 10.2% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Auto stocks were up 1.29% in the last day, and up 0.05% over the last week. Ford Motor Co was the among the top gainers in the auto manufacturers industry, gaining 4.8% yesterday.

Ford Motor shares are trading higher following a report suggesting the company will offer its first eyes-off driver-assistance system in 2028.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued auto stocks right now are:

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) is the most undervalued auto stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Blue Bird has a valuation score of 29, which is 9 points higher than the auto industry average of 20. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Blue Bird's stock has gained 18.76% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the auto industry by 50 percentage points.

General Motors Co (NYSE:GM) is the second most undervalued auto stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

General Motors Co has a valuation score of 71, which is 51 points higher than the auto industry average of 20. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

General Motors Co's stock has gained 66.92% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the auto industry by 98 percentage points.

Honda Motor Co (NYSE:HMC) is the third most undervalued auto stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Honda Motor Co has a valuation score of 71, which is 51 points higher than the auto industry average of 20. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Honda Motor Co's stock has dropped -0.6% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the auto industry by 30 percentage points.

42.86% of auto stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect auto stocks to rise by 14.98% over the next year.

4.35% of auto stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 8.7% of auto stocks are rated B (Buy), 60.87% are rated C (Hold), 8.7% are rated D (Sell), and 17.39% are rated F (Strong Sell).