Honda Motorcycle To Invest Rs 920 Cr For Fourth Assembly Line In Gujarat Plant, Eyes Market Leadership

GANDHINAGAR: Honda Motorcycle and Scooter on Thursday said it would invest Rs 920 crore to commission a fourth production line at its Vithalapur factory in Gujarat to meet rising demand for its vehicles in the world's largest two-wheeler market.

“Honda will be investing 9.2 billion rupees (Rs 920 crore) to build a fourth assembly line to produce 6,50,000 units of 125 cc class motorcycles annually,” Tsutsumu Otani, president and CEO at Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, told reporters while marking Honda's global milestone of producing 500 million two-wheelers event at the Vithalapur facility near Ahmedabad.

The new assembly line, which would go on-stream by the first half of 2027, will boost the plant's annual capacity to 2.61 million units, making it one of the largest manufacturing plant for Honda motorcycles sites globally, HMSI said.

The company said the new investment would also create 1,800 new jobs.

At present HMSI operates four manufacturing facilities in India—Manesar, Haryana (38,000 units), Tapukara, Rajasthan (1.3 million units), Narasipura, Karnataka (2.5 million units), and Vithalapur, Gujarat (1.96 million units)—with a total capacity of 6.14 million units.

Honda’s expansion strategy should be viewed in the context of HMSI's ambition to replace archival Hero MotoCorp as India's largest two-wheeler maker. In January, Otani had articulated Honda’s goal to capture the largest market share and make India an export hub, leveraging automation and local supplier cultivation.

Since their 2011 split, Hero has dominated motorcycle sales in India, particularly in rural markets with models like Splendor, while HMSI leads the scooter segment with Activa, holding over 60 per cent market share.

With the new expansion, the Japanese two-wheeler major’s total production capacity across India will rise to approximately 7 million units by 2027 to take on its archival Hero Motors, India’s biggest bikes maker.

Otani said the company had reached cumulative production volume of 70 million units in April this year, after 25 years of operation in 2001.

The company also has plans to set up a new plant dedicated for electric vehicles within the premises of its existing facility, which is expected to be operational in 2028.

The Japanese major is also looking at India as an export base for global markets. The company has plans to launch at least one electric model every year globally.

Otani indicated the fresh investment’s role in supporting India’s growing market and expanding exports to over 62 countries, including Central and South America.

The company, known for its flagship Activa scooter, reiterated its commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 and zero traffic-related pollution for its motorcycles and cars globally by the same year.