Eyeing annual sales of 50 lakh units in the country, two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India has planned a line up of 15 new models, including seven all-new models, during the year.
“With India contribution reaching 25 per cent of global Honda motorcycle sales this year; India is and will remain Honda’s priority market globally. However, I consider 50 lakk units to be the turning point of Honda in India,” Keita Muramatsu, President & CEO, HMSI said.
He added that in the coming year, Honda is taking the next leap of business expansion. The company will have new manufacturing capabilities and will expand network in the hinterlands aggressively, he said.
The company has sold a total of 36,92,374 units in the April-January period of this fiscal, against 30,01,414 units in year-ago period.
HMSI Vice President – Sales and Marketing Yadvinder S. Guleria said in the ongoing fiscal the company is targeting a total sales of 45 lakh units.
“Once our fourth factory (in Gujarat) comes up in January 2016, we will eventually cross the 50 lakh mark,” he said without putting an exact timeframe to the target.
Stating that the company is gearing up to introduce its highest number of models (15) in just one year, he said starting with the launch of new CB Unicorn 160 in January, HMSI has already introduced six new offerings in just two months.
Apart from the new Activa, there will be 2015 editions of bikes Dream Yuga and Dream Neo and scooter Dio, besides a new CB Shine motorcycle.
HMSI is investing Rs 1,000 crore to set up the plant at Gujarat that will have an annual capacity of 1.2 million units. It will have a total annual production capacity of 5.8 million when the Gujarat plant goes on full steam. The company has three plants at Manesar (Haryana), Tapukara (Rajasthan) and Narsapura (Karnataka).
