Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India adds two manufacturing lines, capacity to increase by 15-20%

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, which had scaled back expansion ahead of BS VI implementation pre-covid, has again got back to increasing output. 

Autocar India exclusively learns that the company has added two manufacturing lines at the Gujarat and Karnataka factories to cater to the growing demand for internal combustion-powered vehicles and electric vehicles respectively.  

The third line at the Gujarat factory is likely to bring in additional volumes of 6.6 lakh units. A dedicated manufacturing line for electric vehicles will come up in FY25, as the company looks to begin production of electric vehicles in the second half of this financial year. The cumulative incremental capacity lined up is about 9 lakh units per annum. Autocar India had exclusively reported that the company was working on an Activa EV codenamed K4BA, which was set to hit the roads in FY25. 

Sources say the company is yet to get back to its pre-covid peak but is confident of strong growth in the future and hence new capacities are being added. 

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India is eying a double-digit growth of over 15% in FY25. This will be the fourth consecutive year of growth with the market inching back to its earlier highs.

The company is eying a volume of over 5.75 million units in FY25, approaching close to its previous peak of FY19 of 5.9 million units. 

The company expects scooter output to grow by 11% next financial year with volumes of over 3 million units, and motorcycle output of 2.65 million with a growth of 23%. 

During the financial year 23-24, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India posted a growth of 13% in domestic sales with volumes of about 4.5 million units with a market share of 25% of the overall two-wheeler market. 

Fresh capacity is being added as the market is back to strong double-digit growth and even the rural markets are making a comeback. With the growing economy and news of normal monsoon, the market is bracing for yet another year of double-digit growth. 

The company sold about 2.5 million scooters in FY24, with a market share of 43%, ceding ground by around 250 basis points, as new-age players grabbed market share with their EV offerings. In the motorcycle segment, however, the company sold about 2 million units, growing its market share by 150 basis points to 17%, led by the new Shine 100 cc motorcycle. 

Sources say that HMSI which aims to foray into the EV space in the second half of this fiscal with its EV scoter, will rely on product upgrades to further grow its share. 

An email sent to Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India seeking their official response did not elicit any response. 

The Indian two-wheeler market ended FY24 with total volumes of 17.97 million units, growing by 13.3%. 

Experts say there is better distribution of income with sustained economic growth amid rising consumption and the news of a normal rainfall augurs well for the two-wheeler market, which has started witnessing continued traction from the rural areas.