Owns companies that make electric vehicles or their parts, or work on other changes to how people get around, following a Bloomberg index.
KARS, the KraneShares Electric Vehicles & Future Mobility ETF, is a $73 million ETF whose main story is physical AI layer. Over the past year it returned −10.4%, against +16.8% for broad US ETFs. Figures to October 2, 2026; past performance, not a recommendation.
The narrative it carries
Its main narrative, at 0.7 of its exposure.
Physical AI layer →
Robots, factory automation and driverless vehicles: the machines AI puts to work in plants, warehouses and on roads.
The band is where this narrative’s level sits among the 22 this week. QUIET means less talked about, not falling.
| # | ETF | SHARE | ASSETS | 1 YEAR | COST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BOTZ | 28.7% | $3.33bn | −0.3% | 0.68% |
| 2 | ARTY | 25.4% | $4.22bn | +70.8% | 0.47% |
| 3 | ROBO | 17.4% | $2.02bn | +23.6% | 0.95% |
| 4 | ARKQ | 11.4% | $1.89bn | +8.0% | 0.75% |
| 5 | ROBT | 4.7% | $775.2m | +10.8% | 0.65% |
| 48 other ETFs | 12.4% |
Share is each ETF’s slice of the capital carrying this narrative. 1 year is market price total return; cost is the expense ratio. See all 53 ETFs on the narrative page →
Also carries: The power constraint →
Utilities, nuclear fuel and grid equipment: the power the AI buildout needs.
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
| 1M | 3M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y* | 5Y* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KARS | −7.5% | −11.3% | −9.0% | −10.4% | +1.6% | −7.9% |
| Physical AI layerits narrative | +4.6% | +1.2% | +21.1% | +22.5% | +23.5% | +6.6% |
| The marketbroad US ETFs | +0.8% | +2.6% | +14.6% | +16.8% | +22.9% | +12.9% |
1M, 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y: one month to five years. YTD: year to date. * A year, annualised. A dash means the ETF has not traded for the whole period. Since it started trading on January 25, 2018: +2.7% a year.
$10,000 invested January 31, 2018
Year by year
Total return in each calendar year; this year is year to date. A year appears only if KARS traded for all of it.
Total return on the market price, with each distribution reinvested on its ex-date. Not the NAV return the issuer publishes; the two differ when the ETF trades above or below the value of its holdings. The narrative is the asset-weighted return of the unlevered ETFs that carry it. The market is the asset-weighted return of broad US index ETFs. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
How closely it moves
KARS moves partly with the market. When the market has moved 1%, KARS has tended to move 1.01%.
KARS moves partly with physical AI layer. When physical AI layer has moved 1%, KARS has tended to move 0.72%.
Weekly returns over 157 weeks. The narrative is measured without KARS in it, so it is not compared with itself.
ETFs it moves most and least like
Correlation of weekly returns over the last 3 years, among unlevered ETFs StoryVector covers.
Where it sits in Physical AI layer
Each dot is one of 17 unlevered ETFs whose main narrative is physical AI layer, placed by its return (up) and how much it swung (right) over the last year.
Risk
Cost against its peers
KARS is the 11th cheapest of 17 ETFs in physical AI layer. The dashed line is the middle of the group, 0.68% a year.
How it is built
An unlevered long ETF that owns its holdings directly. It counts toward Share of Narrative.
Narrative exposure
Second narrative: not yet confirmed from a filing.
Common questions
What story is KARS selling?
KARS’s main story is physical AI layer, which covers robots, factory automation and driverless vehicles: the machines AI puts to work in plants, warehouses and on roads. Its second is the power constraint.
Which ETFs compete with KARS?
The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like KARS’s over the past 3 years are LIT (0.93), BATT (0.91) and IDRV (0.91).
How has KARS performed against its story?
Over the past year KARS returned −10.4%, the ETFs carrying physical AI layer +22.5% and broad US ETFs +16.8%, to October 2, 2026. Its weekly returns have a correlation of 0.66 with the story. Past performance only.
Run an ETF in physical AI layer? StoryVector shows issuers where their ETFs stand against the closest rivals, every week.
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