Honda plans for new bike plant

New Delhi, April 10: Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India is mulling its fifth manufacturing facility after 2020, to cater to expected spurt in demand for its products.

The company, which is already the top contributor to parent Honda’s global two- wheeler business, currently has four manufacturing plants in the country with an installed capacity of 64 lakh units per annum.

“We expect two- wheeler sales of the entire industry to dip post 2020 as product prices would increase ( due to implementation of BS- VI emission norms), but after it stabilises, the industry is expected to grow,” HMSI CEO Minoru Kato told reporters here.

Till 2020, the company would manage demand from the current facilities by increasing efficiencies, he added.

“But after 2020, we can add production capacity,” Mr Kato said.

When asked if it means that the company would set up a new plant, he said, “Possibly. But it is still under consideration.” Mr Kato further said HMSI, which has aspirations to become the top two- wheeler maker in India, ahead of Hero MotoCorp, would prefer to have more production capacity.

“It is the responsibility of the global headquarter to allocate capacity... we would like to raise our hand ( for more capacity),” he said.

Enhanced capacity would also help in meeting HMSI’s ambitions of becoming an export hub, Mr Kato said.