Honda set to launch 1,000cc Africa Twin, 3 other models

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt Ltd (HMSI), India’s second largest twowheeler maker, will launch four completely new models in the current fiscal, but is putting on hold plans to develop a bike in the middle-weight segment, a top company executive said.

The new models HMSI plans to launch include the 1000cc Africa Twin that sports the advanced dual clutch technology and three more undisclosed brand new models — a bike and two scooters, said Minoru Kato, president and chief executive officer, HMSI.

HMSI has already started assembling the completely knocked down kits of the Africa Twin. The model will go on sale next month.

In March, Noriaki Abe, then president and CEO at Asian Honda Motor Co Ltd, who took over as CEO of Honda’s global motorcycle business on April 1, said the company plans to development a mid-weight motorcycle to compete with Eicher Motors Ltd’s Royal Enfield.

Kato indicated on Thursday that the plans had been put on hold for now.

“So far, from my point of view, the cost competitiveness as of today is not enough to compete in that segment,” he said.

HMSI is very cost-competitive in big-volume models like the Activa scooter, which comes in 110cc and 125cc versions, but it doesn’t have the experience of developing motorcycles in the above-250cc (up to 450cc) segment, he said.

HMSI, which emerged as the biggest contributor to Honda’s global sales in 2016, is also planning to make India an export hub once the BS-VI emission norms take effect in 2020, company officials said in Mumbai. It has also formed a cross-functional team to lead the migration to BS-VI.

HMSI plans to invest ₹1,600 crore this year to launch new products and enhance capacity.

With sales of scooters growing at a faster pace than motorcycles — 6.89% vs 4% in 2016-17 — HMSI will have an edge over bigger rival and former partner Hero MotoCorp Ltd, said Nitesh Sharma, an analyst at Phillip Capital India Ltd.