India has become the largest market for Honda two-wheelers in the world, with one in every three Honda two-wheeler sold in the world being in India, the manufacturer disclosed at a media briefing. With the company seeing double digit growth in both scooters and motorcycles, and even beating a very buoyant market for two-wheelers in 2017-18, it is targeting double-digit growth in the coming fiscal year as well. However, Minoru Kato, President and Chief Executive Officer, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) did sound a note of warning for the Indian two-wheeler industry going forward due to pricing pressures that will emerge as the government has made anti-lock brakes mandatory on all vehicles from April 1, 2019 as well as the introduction of Bharat Stage - VI emission norms from 2020. “We are preparing for these major changes and we have the technology in place, but there could be a decline in the two-wheeler market in 2020”, Kato told assembled journalists.
Honda also said that they would be investing an additional Rs 800 crore in the Indian market in 2018-19, taking the Japanese manufacturer’s cumulative investments in India since they started operations in 2001 to Rs 9,800 crore. However, the investments will not be towards building a fifth plant, but towards improving efficiencies in existing factories and towards investing in new tooling for ABS and BS-VI. The manufacturer also has plans for several product updates this coming year, with upgrades on 18 existing models with features such as LED daytime lights. There are also plans to launch a new model as well.
Kato however did not specify if the manufacturer would launch a product in the 250cc segment, where they do not currently have a product.