Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) has emerged as the single highest volume contributor to Honda Motor Corporation in the last financial year. Marking the 70th anniversary of motorcycle mass production, Honda Motor Corporation has announced that the brand has reached the 40 crore milestone in cumulative global motorcycle production since 1949. But for India, the significant news is that Honda's Indian subsidiary, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) has now emerged as the single largest contributor to two-wheeler production in the last financial year.
The Honda Activa is India's highest-selling scooter
HMSI contributed 58.8 lakh units in Honda's global two-wheeler production between April 2018 and March 2019, contributing 28.2 per cent of Honda's global production. In second place is Indonesia, with 51.6 lakh units, or 24.8 per cent of total production. Vietnam emerged as the third largest contributor, with 27.6 lakh units, or 13.3 per cent of total production. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India started operations in 2001 and exceeded 1 crore unit annual production for the first time in 2004.
The Honda CB Shine is not just the largest selling 125 cc motorcycle in India, but also Honda's highest-selling motorcycle globally
HMSI currently has four production facilities in India - the first, in Manesar, Haryana, with an annual production capacity of 16.5 lakh units. Honda has three other production facilities, in Tapukara, Alwar, Rajasthan, Narsapura, near Bengaluru, Karnataka, and the fourth plant, which is dedicated to manufacturing only scooters, at Vithalapur, Gujarat.
Honda Motor Corporation was founded in 1948, and began mass production of motorcycles at its first overseas production facility in Belgium in 1963. Since, then, Honda has expanded its production globally in accordance with its fundamental principle of producing locally where there is demand. Honda currently produces a wide range of motorcycles, ranging from 50 cc commuters to 1,800 cc models, at 35 facilities in 21 countries. In India, HMSI manufactures 110 cc and 125 cc scooters, under the Activa brand, and a range of commuter and premium commuter motorcycles, as well as assembly from completely knocked down (CKD) kits of select premium motorcycle models.
