Honda 2Wheelers starts engine manufacturing at Gujarat plant for export market

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. on Tuesday has announced that it has commenced the manufacturing of global engines from its 4th factory at Vithalapur (Ahmedabad district), Gujarat. This facility will make the 250cc and above category engines.

The engines that will be produced here will be shipped to overseas markets such as Thailand, US, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia and Gulf countries among others, said Honda. As the two-wheeler giant claims, this plant will be a key supplier of engines for the brand's global product portfolio. Besides that, this plant will also cater to domestic demand as well.

The new facility has the capacity to produce 50,000 engines in the first year of operation. The production capacity will be scaled up further keeping pace with the market demand, said Honda in an official release.

Speaking about the launch of the new engine production facility, Atsushi Ogata, Managing Director, President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said that with the increasing demand for mobility around the world, Honda envisions further expansion of its exports footprint across the world. "With the introduction of BS-VI norms in India, we are a step closer to achieve this vision. Building products which are at par with global standards of manufacturing, this new expansion will allow HMSI to develop production capabilities to strengthen our direction of make in India, for the world," he further added.

The automaker also claims that with this new engine production facility, the company will take its current exports capacity to new heights both in terms of markets as well as global quality standards.

Ichiro Shimokawa, Chief Production Officer & Director, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said,“As part of this expansion, we are introducing special processes across various manufacturing stages like machining, engine assembly and advanced storage systems. Building the capability from ground-up, best-in-class technology along with highly skilled manpower will ensure top quality standards. Starting off with close to 50,000 engine units in the first year, our aim is to further scale up as per market demand."