Honda 2Wheelers Announces India As Its Export Hub

Exports will help Honda increase sales and leverage its manufacturing setup in India

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has revealed its plans of establishing India as its newest Overseas Business Expansion Center. Dubbed ‘Making in India for the World,’ the new export vertical will be headquartered at the brand’s Manesar facility. Honda claims it will work closely with all its 100+ pan-India associates to ‘strategically integrate SEDBQ (Sales, Engineering, Development, Purchasing & Quality) functions under one roof.’

HMSI’s two-wheeler portfolio currently comprises 19 BS6-compliant offerings, including motorcycles, scooters, and big bikes. The Honda Dio currently tops the charts as the most-exported model from the HMSI stable. The brand currently exports to 35 markets across Europe, Central and Latin America, Middle East, South-East Asia, Japan, and SAARC nations.

Speaking on Honda 2Wheelers India’s vision for the new overseas business expansion, Atsushi Ogata, MD & CEO, HMSI, said, “With an eye on the future, Honda 2Wheelers India aims to further consolidate its lead in Honda’s global motorcycle business while unlocking the next chapter of ‘Make in India, for India & the World’ in the BS6 era. With this major organisational restructuring, the company is strengthening its business constitution and improving competitiveness to meet the high expectations from Global Honda.”

HMSI started exports in 2001 with the Activa, and the figure had hit a whopping 25 lakh as of January 2020. Since then, though, the worldwide pandemic caused a lull, with 2,09,708 units exported from April 2020 to March 2021, an estimated 35.72 percent less than the preceding year when 3,26,369 units were sold (SIAM figures).

However, with the addition of the CB350 duo (H’Ness and ’RS) to the export roster and Honda now centralising its export functions, we will undoubtedly see an uptick in the upcoming year.