Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India is expecting the technical centre and research and development wing at Manesar in Haryana to start in October.

According to Mr Yadvinder Singh Guleria, operating head – Sales and Marketing, Vice-President of the company, the R&D centre will help reduce testing time for new models that are now sent to Japan and Thailand. Honda Motorcycle is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Japan’s Honda Motor Corp Ltd.

The R&D centre will be run by Honda R&D India Private Ltd (HRID). Mr Guleria, however, did not reveal investment details of the new R&D set up.

New Capacities

Honda Motorcycle is also expecting its third manufacturing unit at Narsapuram in Bangalore to be on stream by this year. The new unit will have a production capacity of 1.2 million units, Mr Guleria added.

The company already has two units, one each in Manesar (Haryana) and Alwar (Rajasthan). The two units together have a production capacity of 2.8 million units.

Exciting market

Our Hyderabad Bureau reports: Talking to presspersons after the launch of the 110 cc mass-market bike Dream Yuga, Mr Makato Yoshii, Deputy Director, Sales, HMSI, said the Indian two-wheeler market is one of the most exciting in the world and expected to continue to witness growth over the next 10 years and beyond. With new launches suiting local requirements, Honda will play bigger role as it expands manufacturing capacity and distribution network. The volume segment accounts for 50 per cent of the country’s motorcycle sales and is crucial in garnering volumes.

“We are constrained by our ability to sell as we have hit the full capacity. There is wait-list for delivery of some models. The new plant at Karnataka will allow us the flexibility to garner bigger share while also bringing down the wait-list,” he said.

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