New Delhi:
Country’s second largest two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) on Thursday said it is planning to launch multiple electric vehicle (EV) products in the country. While it is certain to launch e-scooters, the company shared its optimism about e-motorcycles in the big bike segment.“Based on our experience in China and Japan, customers find e-scooters easier to ride. Even in China, the majority of EVs are e-scooters and only a few e-motorcycles. So, we are not looking to bring EVs in the commuter motorcycle market in India, but it can happen in the premium motorcycles segment because they have enough space, bigger engines and are not price sensitive,” Atsushi Ogata, Managing Director, President and CEO, HMSI, told ETAuto.
Honda began its new premium bike business identity in India under Silver Wing-marked brand as Honda BigWing in April 2019.
Unlike the conventional two-wheeler market where motorcycles dominate the segment with over 60% market share, currently, there are several e-scooter models selling across the country but very few e-motorcycles. The handful of models selling in the market include Revolt Motors’ RV400, Tork Kratos, Oben Rorr, Komaki Ranger, and Ultraviolette’s upcoming e-bike.
HMSI, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Company, Japan, said that it is in the feasibility-study stage for readying its EV model lineup and developing the overall ecosystem in India. The EV introductions will happen while leveraging support from Honda’s other subsidiaries in the country.
Without specifying the launch timeline for its first EV product for the country, the two-wheeler maker said that it will be able to share its e-scooter concept by FY23 end. With an aim to clock 10 lakh units of EV sales, accounting for 30% of its total sales by 2030, the company said its EVs will initially be manufactured at its Manesar plant and will be sold through its existing touchpoints.
The Manesar plant has an annual production capacity of 5.5 million units and the company’s current utilization is about 3.8 million.
In November 2021, Honda also set up its battery sharing subsidiary Honda Power Pack Energy India Pvt Ltd in India with a capital of INR 135 crore. The company will provide battery sharing service for two- wheelers and three-wheelers, starting May this year in Bengaluru, along with providing technical support to vehicle OEMs in the future.
It has started mass production of Mobile Power Pack e: (MPP e:) batteries in India, which are AIS156 certified and have a capacity of 1.35 kiloWatt each.
Ogata said that the fixed battery system is a simpler way now. As and when the EV sales increase, it will look at battery swapping products too.
FY23 roadmap
Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Director – Sales and Marketing, HMSI, said, “We are expecting to see a double-digit growth in FY23.”
According to Ogata, if there is no fourth COVID wave, the company is targeting to close the fiscal year with sales of above 40 lakh units in the domestic market along with over 5 lakh units in overseas markets.
HMSI rolls out its products from four manufacturing plants in Manesar (Haryana), Tapukara (Rajasthan), Narsapura (Karnataka), and Vithalapur (Gujarat), employing a total of 17,000 people. The company clocked sales of around 35 lakh units in FY22 and 38 lakh units in FY21.
The Japanese company noted that the entry level motorcycle category continues to have a significant share in total two-wheeler sales in India and it will also introduce a new 100cc motorcycle in the commuter segment.
Besides this, HMSI is working on development of fuel-efficient products. As part of this, the company plans a phase-wise implementation and integration of flex-fuel technology in its product portfolio. “With more than a decade’s expertise in Flex fuel technology globally and over 7 million satisfied customers in the Brazilian market, HMSI is equipped to make a seamless Flex fuel transition for the two-wheeler market in India,” it said.
Furthermore, the company wants to make its manufacturing plant in Manesar an export hub. HMSI, which began its export journey in 2001 with the Activa scooter, currently exports across 40 countries and wants to expand this to developed nations and add more models. It is aiming to expand this market to the Philippines, North America, Japan and others.
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Priced at INR 39.2 lakh (ex-showroom), Honda has opened the bookings for the 2022 Gold Wing Tour DCT with Airbag option at its exclusive BigWing Topline dealerships in Gurugram (Haryana), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Kochi (Kerala), Hyderabad (Telangana) and Chennai (Tamil Nadu), said the company statement.
