Honda Motorcycles opens its fourth manufacturing plant in India

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) inaugurated its landmark fourth manufacturing plant at Vithalapur (Mandal taluk, Ahmedabad district, Gujarat) in India.

Spread over 250 acres, Honda’s fourth plant operations are scheduled in two phases. The first production line of 6 lakh units annual production will soon be followed by the second Line of additional 6 lakh units annual production in the middle of 2016. In total, Honda will manufacture 1.2 million automatic scooters annually from its fourth plant.

The new fourth plant will increase HMSI’s total annual production capacity to 5.8 million units, including 1.6 million units in first plant (Haryana), 1.2 million units in the second plant (Rajasthan), 1.8 million units in the third plant (Karnataka) and another 1.2 million units in the fourth plant (Gujarat).

Speaking on 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 and CEO, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, “Increasing Scooterisation, a trend seen earlier in developed markets of the world, is the key driver for Indian two wheeler industry today. Leading this change from the front is Honda two-wheelers - the undisputed market leader in this segment in India with a market-share of 56 per cent and growing. Gujarat is an extremely productive market for Honda. We have a market share of 62 per cent 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.”

Directly, Honda’s fourth plant will employ close to 3,000 associates and entails a total investment of Rs 1,100 crore. Indirectly, 22 existing and new suppliers have followed Honda in setting up their manufacturing facilities in Gujarat. In total, suppliers have made an additional investment of Rs 1,100 crore and created 6,000 additional employment opportunities.

Over one-third of the plant's total area is a dedicated green zone and the facility has a zero liquid discharge plan with a rain-water harvesting system as well. The entire facility is powered by energy efficient LED lights as well.