Honda top executives and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel with the 500 millionth Honda two-wheeler produced globally so far since 1949.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Private Limited (HMSI), Honda’s motorcycle production and sales subsidiary in India, has announced to build a fourth production line at its fourth plant at Vithalapur in the Ahmedabad district of Gujarat, at an investment of ₹920 crore.
“The new line slated for production in 2028 will have an annual production capacity of 6,50,000 units, bringing the total capacity of the fourth plant to 2.61 million units, making it Honda’s largest assembly plant for Honda motorcycles in the world,” the company said.
The announcement was made on the occasion of Honda achieving the global cumulative production milestone of 500 million two-wheelers from 1949 till today. A grand function was organised at the company’s factory in Gujarat to mark the event amidst the presence of top Honda executives from Japan and India as well as Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
Tsutsumu Otani, HMSI president & CEO said, ”Honda has long been investing and expanding its production capacity in India, the world’s largest motorcycle market, to bring joy to its customers.”
“25 years on, with much support, HMSI has reached the milestone of 70 million units of cumulative production. With the additional investment in our fourth plant, Honda will continue to deliver attractive products and services to its customers around the world who have higher expectations and trust in the company, and further solidify its Indian motorcycle business,” he said.
HMSI currently has four production plants in India with a total annual production capacity of 6.14 million units. In addition, the cumulative production volume reached 70 million units in April of this year, after 25 years since start of production in 2001.
The fourth plant started operation in February 2016 with an annual production capacity of 6,00,000 units, and in June of the same year, the company expanded its capacity to 1.2 million units with the start of its second line. The third line started operation in January 2024, taking annual production capacity to 1.96 million units.
The fourth line will bring 1,800 new jobs and increase the total production capacity of the fourth plant to 2.61 million units, making it one of Honda’s largest assembly plants for motorcycles in the world. The fourth line will manufacturer 125 cc light motorcycles.
In addition to the fourth production line at the fourth plant, HMS’s total annual production capacity is expected to increase from the current 6.14 million units to approximately seven million units by 2027 through further expansion.
The company’s plants are located in Manesar in Haryana, Tapukara in Rajasthan, Narasapura in Karnataka and Fourth plant at Vithalapur in Gujarat.
Published – May 22, 2025 01:25 pm IST