Honda mulls 2nd unit, new scooter launch

Buoyed by a robust growth in the domestic market, two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle Scooter India (HMSI) is mulling setting up a second manufacturing unit as it expects sales to cross 1.2 million units per annum by March 2011.

"Our current plant would operate on full capacity of 1.2 million units per annum by 2010-11 and we would require a second plant here to meet the market demand beyond that," Shinjo Aoyoma, CEO & President, HMSI, said.

He said the company would require at least two years to conduct a feasibility study for a new plant and plans to start the process by 2009.

HMSI presently operates a manufacturing facility located at Manesar near here. The facility has an installed capacity to produce 1.2 million units per annum, of which over 80% is utilised by the company.

The company, which is the country's largest scooter maker, would also unveil a new automatic scooter at the upcoming Auto-Expo, developed specifically for the Indian market.

While the scooter would be launched by February-end, the company plans a new motorcycle during the first half of next fiscal.

"HMSI has jointly developed a product with Honda Japan specifically for the Indian market. We would unveil the product at the auto expo followed by a national launch in February," Aoyoma said.

The new scooter would be HMSI's fourth offering in the segment and comes after a gap of nearly four years. The last scooter to be launched in the country by the company was the 100cc Dio, introduced in 2003.