HMSI to set up 4th production line at Gujarat plant for Rs 920 cr

Two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India ( HMSI) on Thursday said it will set up a fourth production line at its Vithalapur (Gujarat) plant with a capacity to produce 6.50 lakh units annually at an investment of Rs 920 crore. The additional production line, which will be operational in 2027, will bring the total capacity of the Gujarat plant to 2.61 million units, making it Honda's largest assembly plant for Honda motorcycles in the world, the company said.

HMSI currently has four production plants in India with a total annual production capacity of 6.14 million units.

"Honda has long been investing and expanding its production capacity in India. HMSI has reached the milestone of 70 million units of cumulative production, (since the start of production in 2001). With the additional investment in our fourth plant, Honda will continue to deliver attractive products and services to its customers around the world who have higher expectations and trust in the company, and further solidify its Indian motorcycle business," said Tsutsumu Otani, President and CEO, HMSI.

Manesar facility in Haryana has a capacity to produce 380,000 units/year while Tapukara in Rajasthan has 1.3 million units/year capacity and Narsapura in Karnataka produces 2.5 million units/year.

The Vithalapur plant near Ahmedabad in Gujarat currently churns out 1.96 million units/year and with the addition of the fourth production line it will have an annual production capacity of 650,000 units, bringing the total capacity of the fourth plant to 2.61 million units, the company said.

Honda will be investing approximately Rs 920 crore (approximately 16.1 billion Japanese yen) to construct the fourth line capable of producing 125cc class motorcycles, it said.

The fourth plant started operation in February 2016 with an annual production capacity of 600,000 units, and in June of the same year, the company expanded its capacity to 1.2 million units with the start of its second line, HMSI said, adding the third line started operation in January 2024, taking annual production capacity to 1.96 million units.

This new production line will also bring 1800 new jobs, the company said.

HMSI's total annual production capacity is expected to increase from the current 6.14 million units to approximately 7 million units in 2027 through further expansion of production capacity planned for other plants in India, it said.