Honda inaugurates its fourth two-wheeler plant in India at Gujarat
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd has inaugurated its fourth two-wheeler plant in the country at Vithalapur, Gujarat. The 250 acres plant has been built in 13 months and is the marque's first plant in the world where the entire press shop is operated by robots. This is also Honda's first two-wheeler plant in the country where vacuum cooling tech and nitrogen pressurization in die-casting along with the use of digital eye technology in various processes and locating in-house parts with QR codes in machine shop are used.
Keita Muramatsu, president & CEO Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd., along with Senior Honda Officials at Vithalapur, Gujarat factory inauguration
The new Gujarat plant has been built with an investment of Rs 1,100 crore. Currently the total capacity of the plant is six lakh units in an annum, however with the addition of a second line in mid-2016, HMSI can roll out a total of 12 lakh scooters from this plant.The new plant will also increase HMSI's annual production capacity to 58 lakh scooters including 12 lakh from Rajasthan, 18 lakh from Karnataka and 16 lakh from the Haryana plants.
Keita Muramatsu president & CEO, HMSI said, "Increasing scooterization, a trend seen earlier in developed markets of the world, is the key driver for Indian 2Wheeler industry today. Leading this change from the front is Honda 2Wheelers - the undisputed market leader in this segment in India with a market-share of 56% and growing. Gujarat is an extremely productive market for Honda. We have a market share of 62% 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."
