Honda to up Indian bike output

Honda Motor Co will spend 1 billion rupees in increasing output in its two-wheeler plant in India but has put off plans for a second plant, the Mint paper said on Thursday.

A wholly-owned subsidiary, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (Pvt) Ltd, will also launch a a new scooter and a new 125 cc motorbike next year, the paper said, citing Shinji Aoyama, the chief executive officer of the unit.

Production capacity at its plant near New Delhi will go up to 1.2 million units by 2010 from 900,000 units, Aoyama said.

Honda, which also owns 26 per cent in India's top motorbike maker, Hero Honda Motors Ltd, also plans to develop a 100 cc motorbike, which commands the biggest share of a market of nearly 6 million units a year.

But plans to build a second plant have been put off because it doesn't expect to sell enough to warrant a new factory, the paper said.