The upcoming only scooter plant is located in Gujarat and will be operational by 2015, churning out 1.2 million units of scooters annually of the domestic market. Honda continues to bet on the Activa.
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter (HMSI) has laid the foundation of its upcoming manufacturing facility in Gujarat that will be exclusively producing only scooters for the domestic market. With automatic scooters being a major growth driver for the Japanese manufacturer, the sales have catapulted the company’s fortunes in the country. The new facility will churn out 1.2 million units every year to address the rising demand for scooters seen in recent times. Honda’s current scooter range comprises of the Activa series, Dio and Aviator models.
Located in Vithalapur, Gujarat, Honda’s new only scooter facility is spread across 250 acres and is around 80 kms from Ahmedabad city. Attracting an investment of Rs. 1100 crores, the plant will be operational by the end of 2015 and will employ over 3000 personnel within the first two years of production. In addition, the new facility will be taking Honda’s annual production capacity to an overall 5.8 million units with the rest coming from Haryana (1.6 million units), Rajasthan (1.2 million units) and Karnataka (1.8 million units) plants.
Eyeing total global sales of 18.5 million units this financial year, Honda is expecting India to contribute 25 percent to total global sales. The Indian arm contributed over 20 percent to global sales in the last financial year which stood at 17 million units. Scooter sales have shown immense growth in recent years with the market share growing to 29 percent during the current fiscal. The scooter market now comprises 27 percent of the total Indian two-wheeler space and is expected to escalate further. Honda too added that the scooter demand in the country is expected to go up to 35 percent in the next 5-10 years.
