AI Euphoria in Old World Auto Stocks Gets a Nod From Wall Street

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(Bloomberg) — Investors betting that more old-world auto companies are in line to benefit from the boom in artificial intelligence got another stamp of approval from Wall Street.

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Companies in the automotive industry are well placed to gain from the insatiable demand for power and battery infrastructure as AI applications become more widespread, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley and Evercore ISI.

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Century-old carmaker Ford Motor Co. and auto supplier BorgWarner Inc. have already seen their shares swell on AI excitement. Ford stock just notched its best month in 17 years after launching an energy storage segment. BorgWarner shares have surged more than 70% in 2026 as the company has expanded efforts to sell storage systems to data centers. And both stocks have further room to run, according to Morgan Stanley’s Andrew Percoco.

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“The intersection of autos and energy is becoming harder to ignore,” Percoco wrote in a Wednesday note to clients. Auto and auto-part companies can segue into energy storage, on-site power, and data center architecture, he said. 

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Though the market’s boundless appetite for AI has sent mainstream tech stock’s surging, investors have been hunting for less-obvious bets on automation. Construction giant Caterpillar Inc. has seen its stock jump more than 60% in 2026 as traders wagered on the potential of its power generation equipment. Even a Japanese seasoning maker has taken a turn in the AI limelight, with shares of Ajinomoto Co. up more than 55% year-to-date because it produces insulating film used in semiconductor packaging.

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Auto manufacturers and suppliers often carry latent electric vehicle-related battery, powertrain or electrical component capacity that can be repurposed for AI infrastructure, according to Evercore ISI analyst Chris McNally.

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While McNally said he thinks there’s a “low probability” that Ford peer General Motors Co. follows it into energy storage, Morgan Stanley’s Percoco said he thinks the firm will dedicate technology and capacity to AI-related opportunities. Elon Musk’s EV giant Tesla Inc. has operated in the energy storage space for years, with the segment making up 13.5% of the company’s revenue in 2025, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

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With US electric vehicle demand languishing and traditional automakers winding down their exposure to the space, that leaves production capacity open to an AI-oriented pivot, according to Morgan Stanley.

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“The technology overlap is real, but auto components are not direct drop-ins,” Percoco said. “The opportunity is less about reusing the exact same components and more about applying high-voltage EV engineering know-how to stationary, mission-critical power infrastructure.”