Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) has inaugurated its landmark fourth manufacturing plant at Vithalapur (Mandal taluk, Ahmedabad district, Gujarat) in India. This is the Japanese two-wheeler maker’slatest green factory has come up in a record time of 13 months!
Mr. Shinji Aoyama, Operating Officer and Director, Chief Operating Officer, Motorcycle Operations, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. said,“India plays a key role for Honda’s 2wheeler business. In 2015 Honda’s global sales of all products was 28 million units out of which global 2wheeler sales stood at 17 million units.Today, 25% of the total Honda two-wheelers sold across the world come from India. We will continue to invest in technology, for the Indian market. Through training and cross market collaborations, we want to make India Honda’s technology hub as well. Driven by the visionary growth-centric outlook of the Government, there is an increased focus on investing in roads and infrastructure. These factors imply that the best days for the scooter market in India, are yet to come!”
The Asia Oceania region (which includes India) contributes 56% to Honda’s global sales and how India leads the growth momentum. The release states the trend of increasing demand for automatic scooters in Indian market and how bringing a scooter only plant in India makes business sense for Honda. Mr. Keita Muramatsu – President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said,“Increasing Scooterization, a trend seen earlier in developed markets of the world, is the key driver for Indian 2Wheeler industrytoday. Leading this change from the front is Honda 2Wheelers - the undisputed market leader in this segment in India with a market-share of 56% and growing. Gujarat is an extremely productive market for Honda. We have a market share of 62% of the scooter segment here. As we gear up to take up this challenge of meeting the customer demand, Gujarat is an ideal home and a springboard to achieve greater heights. Now, the Honda automatic scooter you ride will not only be “Made in India” but also “Made in Gujarat.”
