Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India: Expansion Plans

The Indian two wheeler market is the second largest such market in the world. The current market size is approximately 12 million units annually and over the next few years this is set to cross the 20 million unit mark. With such immense potential present it only makes sense to capitalize on the opportunity and that is just what Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) is undertaking.

The company has announced their plans to expand the production capacity of their second manufacturing unit located in Tapukara, Rajasthan. The plant, which is currently still under construction, is expected to commence production by July 2011. The initial plan was to have an annual production capacity of 0.6 million units, however the company is now looking at doubling the output to 1.2 million units by March 2012.

Further to this, HMSI is also constructing a facility near Bangalore in order to cater to the growing demand from the southern markets. The Bangalore facility is set to become operational in the first half of 2013 and will have an annual production capacity of 1.2 million units. With a southern location, HMSI is looking at offering speedy delivery to the southern markets.

Currently, the Manesar facility is operating at full capacity, where the company is producing 1.6 million units annually. Post the commencement of the second and third plant, HMSI will have a total production capacity of 4 million units.

In terms of products, HMSI is looking at further enhancing the portfolio . Their latest launch has been the Honda CBR 250R which has received an overwhelming response and the company has had to increase their targets to 2500 units per month.