Honda opens new production plant in Karnataka

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (Pvt.) Ltd. (HMSI), Honda’s wholly-owned two-wheeler production and sales subsidiary in India, has laid the foundation stone of its upcoming third two-wheeler production plant to meet increasing demand in the rapidly growing two-wheeler market in India.

Spread across 350,000 square meters, the third plant is situated at Narsapura Industrial Area of Karnataka, which is approximately 52km from Bangalore, and is scheduled to become operational in first half of 2013 with annual production capacity of 1.2 million units. The new plant will employ approximately 3,000 associates at initial stage of full capacity and will entail total investment of approximately Rs 10 billion.

Utilizing production technologies refined at the Manesar and Tapukara plants as a starting point, HMSI will strive to improve process ergonomics and employ more advanced automation and other measures to reduce the burden on associates at the third plant. It will also be more environmentally responsible plant by proactively reducing energy consumption during production and by employing various environmental measures such as water recycling.

In order to realize Honda’s vision to provide good products with speed and affordability, the third plant is being built in Bangalore area of South India, which will enable HMSI to more efficiently serve the vast scooter and motorcycle market of India together with the existing Manesar and Tapukara plants in northern India.

This capacity expansion plan will increase HMSI’s total annual production capacity to 4 million units, including 1.6 million units at the first plant at Manesar (Haryana), 1.2 million units at the second plant  at Tapukara (Rajasthan) and 1.2 million units at the third plant planned at Bengaluru, preparing HMSI for further and rapid growth of the market.

India is the world’s second largest motorcycle market after China. Industry-wide two-wheeler sales in India reached 11.32 million units in 2010 (up 30% compared to 2009). HMSI was established as a wholly owned motorcycle production & sales subsidiary of Honda in 1999 and began production in 2001. HMSI’s sales have grown steadily with 2010 sales approximating 1.526 million units (up 40% from 2009) achieving a record high for ten consecutive years.

In order to fulfill the diversifying needs of customers in the growing market of India, HMSI has a current product line-up of three automatic scooters (Activa, Dio & Aviator) and six motorcycles (CB Twister, CBF Stunner, CB Shine, CB Unicorn, CB Unicorn Dazzler & CBR 250R). HMSI will continue fulfilling the expectations of its customers by enhancing its product lineup and expanding the production capacity.

HMSI annual production capacity

 

Fist plant

Second plant

Third plant

Total capacity

As of May 2011

1.6M units

1.6M units

July 2011

1.6M units

0.6M units

2.2M units

March 2012

1.6M units

1.2M units

2.8M units

1st half of 2013

1.6M units

1.2M units

1.2M units

4.0M units

About HMSI plants

  First plant Second plant Third plant
Location IMT* Manesar,

Gurgaon District, Haryana

Tapukara Industrial Area, Alwar District, Rajasthan Narsapuram Area, Karnataka

 

Annual production capacity 1.6 million units

(as of the end of May 2011)

0.6 million units?(initially)

1.2 million units

(at full capacity)

1.2 million units (at the start of operation)
Lot size 210,000 m2 240,000 m2 350,000 m2
Production models

(Plans for second and third plants)

–  Scooter: Activa, Dio, Aviator

–  Motorcycle:

CB Unicorn,

CB Shine,

CBF Stunner,

CB Twister

–  Scooter: Activa

–  Motorcycle:

CB Twister,

CB Shine

–  Scooter

– Motorcycle

About Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (Pvt.) Ltd.

Establishment: August 1999
Head office: IMT* Manesar, Gurgaon District, Haryana state, India
Capital: 3 billion Rupee (approximately 5.4 billion yen,1 rupee = 1.8 yen)
Capitalization Ratio: 100% Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Representative: Keita Matsumura, President & CEO
Business Activities: Production and sales of motorcycles and scooters
Dealership locations: 826 locations (as of March 2011)

* IMT = Industrial Model Township