The BetaShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility ETF (ASX: DRIV) is one of the newer exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the ASX. This fund was first listed on the ASX in December last year. But it's had a rough start.

Since that date, the Betashares Electric Vehicles ETF has dropped from around $12 a unit to the $9.03 it is commanding today (at the time of writing). That puts it down by just over 25% since inception, and a nasty 27% or so in 2022 thus far.

But electric vehicles (EVs) are the future, right? So why is this ETF been so dramatically put on struggle street over its relatively short life?

Well, electric vehicles are certainly making waves right now. According to a report in The Age over the weekend, EVs already make up between 10 and 20% of new car sales in many European countries. In Norway, nearly two-thirds of new cars sold last year were EVs.

We all know that EV sales are rising and are almost certainly going to keep rising, thanks to growing mandates around the world forcing vehicle manufacturers to 'go electric'.

So what gives with the BetaShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility ETF?

Why has the BetaShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility ETF taken a wrong turn?

Well, it pays to remember that an ETF can only be valued on one thing: the value of the underlying shares the fund holds in its portfolio.

So let's check out what's under the hood of the BetaShares Electric Vehicles ETF.

According to the provider, this ETFs current top five holdings are as follows:

1. Uber Technologies
2. Tesla Inc
3. Paccar Inc
4. Volkswagen AG
5. Nio AG

Investors might also recognise some other names there too, such as BYD Co, Volvo AG, Rivian Automotive, and Samsung.

So let's see how this ETF's largest holdings have been faring in 2022 thus far. For a start, Uber shares have lost a painful 27.7% year to date. Tesla shares are down 25.07%, while Paccar is flat. Volkswagen shares have lost more than 18.5%, while Nio has tanked 42.75% (despite rising 8.4% last Friday).

So with so much red ink in the BetaShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility ETF share portfolio, it's no wonder this ETF has been struggling over the year so far. Even though a company might be participating in a growth industry, it doesn't mean its share price can't take a meaningful hit.

These kinds of shares will probably need to make a dramatic turnaround if investors in this ETF are to see a reversal of fortune.

The BetaShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility ETF charges a management fee of 0.76% per annum.

The post Why has the BetaShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility ETF lost 27% in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The ASX boards have welcomed some new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) today. Yes, the BetaShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility ETF (ASX: DRIV) joins the share market. It lists alongside another new BetaShares fund, the BetaShares Future of Payments ETF (ASX: IPAY).

So at the time of writing, DRIV units have debuted at $11.78 per unit and are currently trading at $11.79, up a solid 0.08% after their first few hours of ASX life.

So we took a quick look at DRIV a few days ago when it became clear this ETF was headed for the ASX boards. But if you missed that coverage, here's a quick refresh. So BetaShares tell us that this ETF is designed to track the Solactive Future Mobility Index. This will, in the provider's words, give "exposure to a portfolio of global companies at the forefront of innovation in automotive technology". It holds 50 companies right now.

DRIV comes off the ASX line

Its top 10 holdings, and weightings, are as follows:

1. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) with a portfolio weighting of 9.5%
2. Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) with a weighting of 6.4%
3. Aptiv plc (NYSE: APTV) with a weighting of 6.4%
4. Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER) with a weighting of 6.1%
5. Volkswagen AG with a weighting of 5.6%
6. Volvo AB with a weighting of 4.7%
7. Paccar Inc (NASDAQ: PCAR) with a weighting of 4.4%
8. BYD Co Ltd with a weighting of 4.2%
9. Li Auto Inc with a weighting of 3.9%
10. Xpeng Inc (NYSE: XPEV) with a weighting of 3.6%

So as you can see, many famous names there. At the top of the pile, we have the well-known electric vehicle manufacturers Tesla and Nio. Nio is a giant Chinese company often called the 'Tesla of China'.

Aptiv is a US auto parts company, while Uber is of course the eponymous ride-sharing provider.

Volkswagen and Volvo need no introduction as conventional vehicle brands, while Paccar is a manufacturer of diesel trucks with brand names like Kenworth and Peterbilt.

BYD, Li Auto and Xpeng are all Chinese companies with expanding electric vehicle manufacturing operations.

Geographically, DRIV is weighted 44% towards US companies and 20.3% towards Chinese companies. Germany, Ireland, Europe, Japan and South Korea make up the vast majority of the rest.

Although this DRIV ETF only makes its ASX debut today, the index that it tracks has reportedly returned an average of 23.5% since its inception in May 2017.

The BetaShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility ETF charge a management fee of 0.67% per annum (or $67 per year for every $10,000 invested).

The post Meet DRIV (ASX:DRIV), the electric vehicle ETF that just listed on the ASX appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.