Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has inaugurated its third assembly line at its two-wheeler manufacturing plant at Vithalapur in Gujarat, adding a capacity of 6.5 lakh units per annum. HMSI’s state-of-the-art Vithalapur facility is Honda’s largest scooter-only plant in the world. The inauguration of this line took place on January 5.
Honda’s popular Activa and other scooters like the Dio, Activa 125 and Dio 125 are manufactured at this facility. HMSI’s Gujarat plant also has a dedicated engine line that serves as a base to manufacture global engines (for 250cc plus two-wheelers) to cater to overseas demand from markets like Thailand, US, Europe and Japan. India is one of the most important production bases for Honda globally, especially in the context of two-wheeler manufacturing.
Tsutsumu Otani, president, MD and CEO, HMSI, said: “To serve customers more efficiently with speed, undertaking this capacity expansion plan will increase HMSI’s total annual production volumes significantly. HMSI’s Gujarat plant produces scooter models for domestic as well as export markets, which will help us to continue leading the trend of scooterisation not just in India but across the globe.”
This expansion at the Vithalapur plant has created additional employment opportunities and HMSI plans to increase the number of female workforce in the manufacturing area.
Vishal Venugopal
Ved Janve
Azaman Chothia
