Honda Motorcycle commissions 6.5 lakh additional production capacity at Gujarat plant

Left to Right: Mr. Naveen Awal, Director, Production HMSI along with Mr. Tsutsumu Otani, President, MD & CEO, HMSI, Mr. Hiroshi Tokutake, Executive Vice President, Asian Honda Motor Company and Mr. Takahiro Honda, Director & Chief Production Officer, HMSI

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) on Monday said it has commissioned a third assembly line at its Vithalapur (Gujarat)-based manufacturing plant.

The third line will add an additional production capacity of 6.5 lakh scooter units, taking the total capacity of the facility to 19.7 lakh units per annum.

"To serve customers more efficiently with speed, undertaking this capacity expansion plan will increase HMSI's total annual production volumes significantly," HMSI President, Managing Director & CEO Tsutsumu Otani said in a statement.

The Vithalpur plant produces scooter models for domestic as well as export markets, which will help the company to continue leading the trend of scooterisation not just in India but across the globe, he added.

HMSI rolls out its scooter models like Dio, Activa 125 and Dio 125 at the Vithalapur facility.

The plant also has a dedicated engine line that serves as a base to manufacture global engines (250cc and above category of two-wheelers) to serve markets like Thailand, the US, Europe, and Japan.

India is one of the most important production bases for Honda globally in two-wheeler manufacturing capacity, the company stated.

Currently HMSI has four manufacturing plants in the country located at Manesar (Haryana), Tapukara (Rajasthan), Narsapura (Karnataka) and Vithalapur (Gujarat).