Building a 100% localised EV in India not feasible: Outgoing Honda Motorcycle & Scooter head Atsushi Ogata

Atsushi Ogata, Managing Director, President & CEO, HMSI

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India President and CEO Atsushi Ogata, while unveiling the company’s EV roadmap for India, revealed that it is setting up a separate unit at its Narsapura plant in Karnataka to roll out electric two-wheelers, with the first two models expected to hit the market in the next fiscal year itself.

Ogata is confident that Honda will make significant inroads, especially into the medium-speed electric scooter market, which has space for more players. However, he was categorical that completely indigenising the upcoming EVs was not feasible despite the company’s best efforts.

Currently, Honda is looking to collaborate with major suppliers, component makers, battery makers, motors, Electronic Control Units (ECUs), etc.

“In the beginning getting certain components will be difficult. We are negotiating with major suppliers to discuss how to enhance localisation. But Honda alone cannot create localisation (and) maybe we need some alliances with other OE makers,” said Ogata, whose tenure in India ends on March 31st.

Full indigenisation some time away

Ogata revealed that even for the company’s current bestseller Activa, 100 percent localisation is not possible because certain hi-technology parts, which are quality safe, are still imported. “So EVs will be more difficult (to completely localise) because of battery parts. Certain parts Inside the battery pack will still be imported. Parts like motors, magnets are impossible to find in India. So, actual localisation of EVs will still be lower than 100 percent,” explained Ogata, while responding to a query in a roundtable meeting with reporters.

Even though the company is aiming to attain a production capacity of 1 million for EVs by 2030, Ogata was categorical that not a single part would be sourced from China.

“We are trying to not import from China because of certain difficulties. Some other parts will be imported from ASEAN countries and Japan, Ogata added. He also claimed that it was not easy to create an EV with a sustainable business structure without “economic profits”.

On an earlier occasion, Ogata had told reporters, “We should create India-based electric mobility. It will be 100 percent made in India and will be in line with local conditions such as temperature, conditions, usage, distance, etc.”

China stint

During his stint in China, when the electric two-wheeler market was in its infancy, Ogata made sure that the Japanese auto major became a leading manufacturer rather than just a fringe player.

Between 2006 and 2015, Ogata drove Honda two-wheeler sales in China. After spending the first four years as General Manager in the Sales Division of Sundiro Honda Co., Ltd (Shanghai), he became the President of Wuyang Honda Motor Co., (Guangzhou). Thanks to his efforts, Honda’s two-wheeler arm in China today ships high-quality premium electric scooters to Japan.

Meanwhile, back in India, Honda has initiated Project Vidyut to cater to the demand for electric two-wheelers. As a part of this project, it will launch two such two-wheelers in FY24. The first will be a mid-range fixed battery scooter, while the second will be a swappable battery type vehicle. Ogata revealed that the first electric scooter, which is likely to be based on Activa’s BS-IV version platform, will go for mass production in mid-March 2024, followed by market launch.

In addition to that, it will also launch three internal combustion engine (ICE) models which comprises a 160cc motorcycle, a 125cc scooter and a 350cc motorcycle.