Trend Automotive: EV adoption rises while margins lag on battery cost and Chinese competition

Summary

In its automotive outlook, NTT DATA describes an industry under strong pressure to make electrification profitable. Adoption of electric vehicles keeps rising, but profit margins have not kept pace. The report attributes this to battery costs, changing subsidies, charging networks that are still immature and fierce global competition, especially from Chinese carmakers. Carmakers must also scale software-defined vehicles, secure battery and chip supplies and navigate geopolitical fragmentation. To improve unit economics, the report points to platform reuse, varied battery chemistries, recycling, second-life uses and transparent total-cost-of-ownership models. It expects future differentiation to come from autonomy, intelligent factories, energy ecosystems and circular EV platforms.