Honda aiming to become number one two-wheeler maker in India by 2020; expects advantage with India adopting BS-VI norm
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India is aiming to become the top two-wheeler manufacturer in Indian market by 2020. The Japanese two-wheeler brand expects to get a competitive advantage with the country adopting stricter BS-VI emission norm from April 2020. Honda hopes to grab the top spot by ousting its erstwhile partner Hero MotoCorp, which is currently the number one two-wheeler brand in the country.
Hero MotoCorp that has been ruling the domestic two-wheeler market for quite long time thanks to its range of affordable and popular commuter products. But, recently, the homegrown two-wheeler manufacturer is focusing on expanding its business globally. For that, the company is emphasising on premium products. On the other hand, Honda is focusing on domestic market and made sure that India contributes around 30% of its global sales.
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Currently, the second largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the country, Honda is not only focusing on developing new products with impressive technologies. It is also emphasising on network expansion and increased volume production as well. On Wednesday, Honda has started fourth assembly line at the Narsapura production plant in Karnataka.
With the new assembly line at the manufacturing facility, the two-wheeler brand will be able to roll out 6 lakh additional units per year with the total production capacity of the company hitting 6.4 million units per annum. Presently, the company has four production plans across the country located in Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka. Also, with the expanded production capacity, India is now largest manufacturing hub around the globe for the two-wheeler manufacturer.
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As a large number of two-wheeler sales is attributed to rural Indian market, HMSi is focusing to increase its presence there. Hero currently has a very strong hold in the rural market. Honda had 5,200 retail outlets in the end of last financial year and the company is to add around 500 more touch points by the end of current fiscal and a majority of that will be focusing on semi-urban and rural areas.
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