Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt Ltd (HMSI) on Wednesday announced to invest an additional Rs 1,100 crore on capacity expansion through its fourth manufacturing facility in India, to be set up in the Ahmedabad district of Gujarat.
The new plant, which will have an initial production capacity to manufacture 12 lakh vehicles per annum, is expected to be operational in 2015, said Takanobu Ito, President, CEO and Representative Director, Honda Motor Company, Japan, at the ongoing 12{+t}{+h} Auto Expo in New Delhi.
“HMSI’s sales volumes have already reached the second position for Honda’s two-wheeler business worldwide. We believe India may soon be top market for Honda,” he said.
Since 2011, HMSI has aggressively grown from one to three plants, covering North and South India. Honda wanted to reach closer to vast market in Western India which contributes over 25 per cent to HMSI business, he said.
With the fourth plant, Honda’s total annual production capacity in India will increase to 58 lakh units by 2015-16, including 16 lakh at the first plant (Haryana), 12 lakh at the second (Rajasthan) and 18 lakh at the third plant (Karnataka).
Honda also showcased nine products in New Delhi.