Automotive players, EV adoption by region, trends 2024 to 2026, and how to crack the cases
Who the players are, how fast EVs are spreading in each region, the policies behind it, typical prompts, traps and drills.
Industry brief, with a one-minute summary: Automotive and electric vehiclesFirm processes and online tests change from year to year and differ by office. Use this to prepare, and confirm the exact current steps on the firm's own careers page.
Key takeaways
- Automotive cases usually ask how to restore profit, whether to launch or localize a model, how to respond to cheaper EV rivals, or how to build an EV business.
- Common traps: Forgetting VAT and dealer margin when working from a showroom price.
- World: the IEA's Global EV Outlook 2026 reports that electric car sales grew about 20 percent in 2025 to more than 20 million, about 25 percent of all new cars sold.
- Europe: electric car sales grew more than 30 percent in 2025 to about 28 percent of sales (IEA).
Key idea
Automotive cases usually ask how to restore profit, whether to launch or localize a model, how to respond to cheaper EV rivals, or how to build an EV business. The answer depends on volume against fixed costs, the region's EV adoption speed, and policy.
| Region | Carmakers | Two- and three-wheelers, suppliers and others |
|---|---|---|
| Japan and Korea | Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Suzuki, Hyundai, Kia | Denso, Aisin, Hyundai Mobis; battery makers LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, SK On, Panasonic |
| Europe | Volkswagen Group, Stellantis, Renault, BMW, Mercedes-Benz | Bosch, ZF, Continental, Valeo |
| United States | General Motors, Ford, Tesla | Magna (Canada), many tier 1 suppliers |
| China | BYD, Geely, SAIC, Chery, Changan | CATL and BYD in batteries |
| India | Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, Hyundai Motor India | Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor, Ola Electric, Ather Energy |
| Gulf, Africa and Southeast Asia | Ceer (Saudi EV brand), Lucid assembly in Saudi Arabia; car assembly in South Africa and Morocco; VinFast (Vietnam) | Large distributor groups such as Abdul Latif Jameel (Saudi Arabia) and Al-Futtaim (UAE) |
So-what
In the Gulf and much of Africa, most cars are imported and sold through large family-owned distributors, so distribution cases are common there.
EV adoption and trends 2024 to 2026 (checked 28 September 2026)
- World: the IEA's Global EV Outlook 2026 reports that electric car sales grew about 20 percent in 2025 to more than 20 million, about 25 percent of all new cars sold. It expected about 23 million in 2026, around 28 percent of sales.
- China: electric cars (battery electric and plug-in hybrid) were almost 55 percent of new car sales in 2025, with more than 13 million sold, and China accounted for more than half of the global increase in electric car sales (IEA).
- Europe: electric car sales grew more than 30 percent in 2025 to about 28 percent of sales (IEA). The EU has applied extra duties of up to 35.3 percent on battery electric cars imported from China since October 2024 (EU Implementing Regulation 2024/2754).
- Leaders: BYD sold about 2.26 million battery electric cars in 2025, more than Tesla's roughly 1.64 million deliveries, the first full year it led in battery electric cars (CNBC, January 2026).
- India: EV adoption is led by two- and three-wheelers. A record of about 1.4 million electric two-wheelers were sold in the year to March 2026, about 57 percent of all electric vehicles sold in India, and electric three-wheeler sales passed 800,000 for the first time (Autocar Professional). Electric rickshaws are now a large share of three-wheelers in many cities. The PM E-DRIVE scheme, in force from 1 October 2024, supports electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, buses, trucks and charging (Press Information Bureau). It was first due to end on 31 March 2026 but now runs to 31 March 2028. In August 2026 the government extended the subsidy for electric two-wheelers to that date, at INR 2,500 per kWh of battery up to INR 5,000 a vehicle, and raised the scheme's total budget to about INR 11,900 crore (Autocar Professional, 11 August 2026). Subsidies change often, so check the latest rules.
- Batteries: average pack prices fell to about USD 108 per kWh in 2025 across all uses (BloombergNEF).
- Energy shock: the IEA's 2026 outlook says attention is turning to the effects of the energy crisis linked to the conflict in the Middle East, and notes that some countries, including Viet Nam, have announced plans to expand or extend EV tax incentives in response. Higher fuel prices also widen the running cost gap between petrol and electric vehicles.
Regulation basics
- Emissions and fuel economy: many regions limit the average carbon dioxide per km of all cars a maker sells (fleet targets), such as the EU and India. Missing them brings fines.
- Safety: crash test and safety rules, and rating programs such as Euro NCAP and Bharat NCAP.
- Incentives: purchase subsidies, tax cuts and registration benefits for EVs; these change often.
- Trade and local content: import tariffs on cars are often high, which pushes carmakers to build or assemble locally; production-linked incentives reward local manufacturing in India.
- Sales rules: some markets protect dealers by law, which limits direct sales by carmakers.
Typical case prompts and how to crack them
| Prompt | Structure hint | First driver to check |
|---|---|---|
| A European carmaker's profit halved | Volume x (price and mix minus variable cost) minus fixed costs; by region and model | Volume against plant capacity, then price and mix |
| Should we build an EV plant in India? | Investment: demand by segment, cost to localize, incentives, competitors, capacity ramp-up | Segment choice: two-wheelers, three-wheelers or cars |
| A cheaper rival EV entered our market. How should we respond? | Competitive response: understand the rival's cost, our cost gap, options including partnering | Our battery and platform cost gap |
| A dealer group in Saudi Arabia wants more profit | Profit by line: new cars, used cars, service, parts, finance and insurance | Service and parts profit per customer, and customer retention |
| An electric scooter startup is losing money on each scooter | Unit economics: price, battery cost, other bill of materials, warranty, subsidy dependence | Battery cost per kWh and subsidy per scooter |
So-what
Say early whether the case is about cars or two- and three-wheelers. In India and much of Southeast Asia the answer often changes.
Forgetting VAT and dealer margin when working from a showroom price. Ignoring fixed costs, so a small volume drop looks harmless. Assuming EV adoption is the same everywhere: it differs hugely between China, Europe, the US, India and the Gulf. Treating subsidies as permanent. Looking only at new car margins in a dealer case. Forgetting that a new EV can take sales from the company's own petrol models (cannibalization).
Profitability; Competitive response; New product or service launch; Market entry; Capacity, supply chain, and footprint; Sustainability and decarbonization.
Kavrin Motors (fictional) earns a contribution of EUR 4,500 per car. Its fixed costs are EUR 600 million a year, planned for 200,000 cars (EUR 3,000 per car). Volume falls to 160,000 cars. What is its new yearly operating profit, in EUR million?
Why have electric two- and three-wheelers spread faster than electric cars in India?
What is a car platform?
A carmaker's sales fall 20 percent. Why can profit fall much more than 20 percent?
Sources for this lesson (9)
- IEA, Global EV Outlook 2026, executive summary
- IEA, Global EV Outlook 2026, trends in electric cars
- BloombergNEF, "Lithium-ion battery pack prices fall to $108 per kilowatt-hour", December 2025
- CNBC, "China's BYD overtakes Tesla as world's top EV seller for the first time", 2 January 2026
- EUR-Lex, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2754 on battery electric vehicles from China
- Autocar Professional, "Record 1.4 million electric 2Ws sold in FY2026"
- Autocar Professional, "Electric 3W sales past 800,000 for the first time in FY2026"
- Press Information Bureau (India), PM E-DRIVE scheme
- Autocar Professional, "Govt extends PM E-Drive subsidy for e2Ws till FY28, increases allocation", 11 August 2026
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