1

The intelligent OEM: Competing in an era defined by speed, pressure and complexity

2

Today’s vehicle manufacturing landscape is unrecognizable from a few years ago. In an industry where progress was once measured, methodical and hardware-defined, the growing importance of agility, intelligence and sustainability is rapidly transforming the entire value chain under intense cost, regulatory and delivery pressure.

Achieving truly intelligent transport and infrastructure is complex. While facing pressure to deliver richer, connected experiences and optimized production, OEMs also do more with less, shorten development cycles, reduce cost per vehicle and maintain quality at scale.

At the same time, supply chain resilience is becoming a defining priority, particularly across the electrification ecosystem. Batteries, inverters, electric motors and the critical materials behind them are exposing new dependencies and risks.

Strong digital foundations and tighter integration across systems, technologies and partners are essential to meet these challenges, turning data into action and enabling more sustainable, secure mobility while improving operational responsiveness and predictability.

In this guide we outline how vehicle OEMs can create value across the full vehicle lifecycle while competing effectively against a complex and fast-changing market.

Introduction

3

Mobility is being reshaped by demands to increase the speed of delivery, combat organizational complexity and accelerate the transition to electric and hybrid vehicles while maintaining profitability in an increasingly competitive global market. At Hitachi, we believe four areas will reshape OEM competitive advantage:

Battery manufacturing becoming a strategic capability

Factories becoming agile through digital

Vehicles as connected digital platforms

Sustainability as differentiation

Our priority is clear: to help OEMs achieve their sustainability objectives through practical, scalable solutions that deliver both environmental and economic value.

Industry Outlook

3

4

01 Battery manufacturing becoming a strategic capability The pace of electrification is driving dramatic growth in battery demand, making batteries central to product differentiation. OEMs that build strong manufacturing capabilities and secure reliable supply at scale will be best placed to gain a clear advantage in both cost and market responsiveness.

Delivering this capability is not straightforward. High production and material costs, supply chain complexity, factory retooling from ICE to EV, capacity pressures and shifting consumer demands are all raising the bar. At the same time, dependence on critical materials is increasing supply risk across the battery value chain and exposure to disruption.

Given those circumstances, battery production must maintain speed, consistency and quality at scale, while meeting strict safety and performance standards. For many OEMs that means developing new expertise, moving from pilot lines to full production while integrating battery manufacturing into existing operations.

Hitachi helps close that gap. Our lifecycle approach takes a holistic view of products, assets and materials and strengthens the OEM ecosystem. It connects manufacturing with reuse, recycling and long-term battery strategy to

improve efficiency, reduce carbon impact and recover value from materials. Our advanced digital capabilities, including digital twins, help optimize factory designs before they are even built or retooled, supporting more flexible, modular production approaches across EV, PHEV and MHEV platforms. For example, JR Automation supported Lion Electric in rapidly scaling EV battery production, accelerating output while maintaining efficiency.

We help OEMs build stable, efficient, future-ready production systems that meet evolving performance requirements and comply with sustainability regulations, while also making manufacturing more efficient through digital technologies. From cell to pack, and layout to line, our solutions improve yield, throughput and operational reliability, supporting in- house battery production.

https://www.hitachi.com/en-eu/insights/articles/jrautomation/ https://www.hitachi.com/en-eu/insights/articles/jrautomation/

5

02 Factories becoming agile through digital Factory operations are becoming ever more intricate, as OEMs constantly battle to deliver higher productivity, quality and uptime while managing cost and labor pressures.

Connectivity within factories and production lines is now a necessity, with automation playing a central role in driving modernization. Digital intelligence and data-driven insights are key to differentiation, but many OEMs are unable to unlock the data they collect due to fragmented systems.

Digital factories are crucial to this vision and Hitachi is fully equipped to support connected, high performing operations at scale. Creating agile, digitally enabled factories is one of our greatest strengths, with our solutions integrating OT, IT and data and helping OEMs design, operate and optimize production with greater speed and precision.

We also support the shift towards more flexible manufacturing models, including modular toolkit approaches that allow OEMs to produce multiple powertrain types on shared platforms, improving use and reducing risk during the transition to full electrification.

In an environment where innovation cycles are tightening, production patterns are shifting and customer demand is changing fast, our capabilities provide real advantage by translating digital investment into measurable gains in performance, flexibility and cost efficiency.

Hitachi Rail’s $100m carbon-neutral ‘lighthouse’ factory in Maryland is one example of how digital factories can turn complex operations into agile, high-output systems, producing up to 20 railcars per month for major US transit networks. With AI, real-time data and end-to-end connectivity embedded across production, we enable customers to improve quality and uptime while driving efficiency.

5

https://www.hitachi.com/en-us/press/hitachi-rail-opens-lighthouse-digital-factory-in-the-us/ https://www.hitachi.com/en-us/press/hitachi-rail-opens-lighthouse-digital-factory-in-the-us/

6

03 Vehicles as connected digital platforms Vehicles are rapidly becoming connected, software-defined platforms, creating vast amounts of data across vehicles, production systems and supply chains. Used well, that data can power new services, improve performance, generate revenue and strengthen customer relationships.

Turning this volume of data into usable insight remains a challenge. Manufacturers need to capture, manage and analyze information across the full vehicle lifecycle, from design and production to real world use, while protecting security, privacy and trust. Many are still building the capabilities needed to do this consistently and at scale.

Data is a powerful driver of innovation and differentiation. And we at Hitachi are experts at turning data into practical insight. Our knowledge and capabilities help OEMs unlock usage-based features, predictive maintenance and more personalized in-vehicle experiences, while also streamlining

design decisions and production efficiency. We also know the importance of strengthening data flows across the supply chain, and use our expertise to increase visibility, enable better coordination and traceability and improve responsiveness to disruption.

Our specialist teams and advanced data analytics also help manufacturers cut emissions while strengthening how they collect and manage data, meaning they’re better positioned to balance immediate production demands with longer-term sustainability goals as they pursue a lower carbon transport future.

7

04 Sustainability as differentiation True sustainability in mobility demands visibility across the entire vehicle journey. But protecting reliability, performance and cost while balancing strict regulations and rising customer expectations for cleaner, more responsible transport is not straightforward.

Manufacturers need to look beyond the factory and reassess how vehicles are designed, built, used and recovered. That means reducing emissions in production, improving operational energy efficiency and designing vehicles and components for reuse and recyclability, while considering battery production, material sourcing and supply chains in the same equation.

Lifecycle approaches are at the heart of this shift and heavily influencing how OEMs think about sustainability and resilience, because decisions made early in the design stage shape manufacturing efficiency, operational energy use and the recovery of valuable materials at end of life. We at Hitachi excel in these scenarios, bringing together manufacturing expertise and data insight to connect immediate production priorities with longer term sustainability goals.

This is more than just theory for us; it’s embedded into how we operate. Through our remanufacture program, we have offset more than 5000 metric tons of CO2 production through the salvage and reclaim of components.

Central to that approach is the move towards a circular economy. Beyond the manufacturing process, our expertise helps extend product life, enables reuse and improves recycling so OEMs can reduce environmental impact while strengthening supply resilience.

7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox7qpbGtacY

8

Five future imperatives for OEMs To stay ahead in a fast-changing automotive landscape, OEMs must focus on five critical priorities that drive innovation, efficiency and long-term value.

Orchestrate the entire vehicle lifecycle: Manage design, sourcing, production, use and end-of-life as one connected system to improve efficiency, sustainability and long-term value.

Transform factories into adaptive digital systems: Use connected equipment, automation and data insight to create flexible production environments that respond quickly to demand and innovation.

Convert data into strategic advantage: Capture and analyze data across operations and vehicles to improve decisions, unlock new revenue and strengthen resilience.

Build battery capability as core infrastructure: Secure reliable supply while strengthening in-house expertise in battery production, integration and lifecycle management.

Turn vehicle intelligence into continuous value: Use software and connectivity to deliver new services, enhance performance and extend value beyond the point of sale.

9

Explore our offering below to see how you can energize your infrastructure and connect your operations. Let’s work together to transform commercial and logistics operations - today for tomorrow.

Wayside / DepotGrid

Data flow – integrating data from different assets across the whole system

Energy flow from grid to wheel

Vehicle

Business / Service

Manage fleets, charge vehicles, and protect assets

Optimize operational efficiency and passenger

experience

Manufacture, test, control and track vehicles

Snapshot of our solutions and services

Secure the energy supply for depots and fleets

Solutions

• Energy management

• Battery storage power stations (BESS)

• Microgrid integration

• Charging infrastructure

• Energy as a service

Solutions

• Semiconductor Manufacturing

• Vehicle components

• Factory automation

• In vehicle software

• Battery testing

• Vehicle intelligence (GPS etc)

Solutions

• Assets and workforce scheduling

• Warehousing and palletization

• Transport and route optimization

• Shipment visibility

• Omni-channel logistics

• Utilities and energy monitoring

Solutions

• Charging management

• Charging solutions

• Battery usage management

• Battery health and charge monitoring

• Battery as a service (BaaS)

• Asset fleet management

• Charge optimization

• SCADA asset management

10

From pressure to progress: The intelligent OEM in action Automotive markets now move faster and with more pressure. OEMs must lead with clarity and confidence across the full vehicle journey, from design and production through to the solutions delivered on the road.

Hitachi works with OEMs to meet this challenge, bringing OT, IT and data together to optimize production with precision.

Through close collaboration and advanced technology, we support manufacturers in staying ahead of industry change and shape cleaner, more dynamic and seamless transport experiences.

To find out more about how Hitachi can help you on your journey, visit:

10

hitachi.com/en-eu/insights/articles/mobility/

https://www.hitachi.com/en-eu/insights/articles/mobility/. https://www.hitachi.com/en-eu/insights/articles/mobility/. https://www.hitachi.com/en-eu/insights/articles/mobility/.