Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) is all set to become the top two-wheeler market for India, on a global scale. The Japanese manufacturer has projected that HMSI will surpass Honda Indonesia in the next couple of years. The credit for the expansion has been attributed to the expansion of the manufacturing facilities in India.
More than eight lakh sales have taken place in the last year and HMSI has a currently 25 per cent of the global revenue of Honda. Incidentally, the number will increase to nearly 27 per cent in the next fiscal. Indonesia has a more contribution because of more expensive cars in the line-up in the country. The Indian two-wheeler industry grew by 4 per cent whereas HMSI showed a growth 11 per cent, maintaining a consistent growth.
Keita Muramatsu, the President and CEO of HMSI, said, "HMSI's volume contribution is now very close to Honda Indonesia which makes us a strong number two. Indonesia clocks around 4.8 million units in annual sales and our plan for HMSI this fiscal is 4.5 million units. Both of us (HMSI and Honda Indonesia) are planning additional capacity so in the next couple of years we will cross Indonesia.”
Honda has shown growth in India, riding on the low-capacity vehicles, like Activa. The company had initiated this scooter about a decade ago. The scooter currently enjoys almost 28 per cent of the central market share among two-wheelers. The company is focussing on an all-scooter manufacturing facility in Gujarat with a net capacity of 12 lakh units.
