Honda rides past 35 million two-wheeler production milestone in India

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), the 100 percent subsidiary of Honda Motor Company (Japan), today celebrated a production milestone with the cumulative production of the company’s four manufacturing plants in India crossing the 35 million unit mark in total. Achieving this landmark has taken 17 years, says HMSI.

The company started operations in 2001, taking 11 years to achieve the initial 10 million units cumulative production in India (milestone achieved in 2012). As the only Honda in Indian two-wheeler industry since 2012, it added the next 25 million customers in just five-and-a-half years to hit the 35 million mark.

Between 2011 to 2017, the company has aggressively expanded manufacturing capacity to three new plants, taking the total annual capacity to 6.4 million two-wheelers from four plants. At present, it offers 24 two-wheeler models ranging from 110cc to 1800cc capacity.

Rolling out the landmark 35^th million two-wheeler – an Activa 4G scooter – from HMSI’s second plant in Tapukara (Rajasthan), Minoru Kato, president and CEO, Honda 2Wheelers India, said, “Thanks to great support from customers in both India and 68 countries across the world, Honda 2Wheelers India is celebrating our 35 millionth two-wheeler landmark today. We at Honda are committed to provide quality products and experiences that make customers’ lives more enjoyable.”

Yadvinder Singh Guleria, senior vice-president - Sales & Marketing, HMSI, said, “Our first model, a scooter (Activa) activated the slowing scooter market with its advanced features and fresh design and is now leading India’s scooterisation as No. 1 selling two-wheeler of India. Delighting 35 million customers with 24 products, Honda 2wheelers is now reaching closer to them through a network of over 5,700 authorised touch-points.”

Honda’s leading global hub for two-wheeler business
This landmark marks a new milestone in Honda’s longstanding presence in India and emphasises Honda 2Wheeler India’s role as the biggest production and sales base for two-wheelerds both for the country and the world. In 2017-18, Honda produced approximately 14.8 million units of motorcycles worldwide (from April to December 2017). Of this, Honda 2Wheelers India accounted for approximately 31 percent of the motorcycle production and reinforced its position as the biggest two-wheeler production hub for Honda globally.

Meeting domestic demand in India remains a priority as 95 percent of the Honda two-wheelers produced in India are sold in the country.