Disclosed herein are a composite cathode material for a lithium-ion battery, a lithium-ion battery, and a vehicle. A core of the cathode material is a lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese oxide material. A surface layer of the cathode material is a lithium-nickel-cobalt oxide material doped with an element E. There is a transition layer between the core and the surface layer. The transition layer is a lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese oxide material doped with the element E. A content of the element E in the transition layer shows a decreasing trend in a direction from the surface layer of the cathode material to the core. A general formula for the composition of the transition layer is Li1+mNi1-x-y-zCoxMnyEzO2. 0≤m≤0.1, 0.01≤x≤0.1, 0.01≤y≤0.1, and 0.01≤z≤0.1. E is at least one of Al, Zr, Ti, Y, Ba or Sr.