Honda expands production at motorcycle plant in Vithalapur
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI), on Thursday said it plans to build a fourth production line at its fourth plant, located in Vithalapur, in rural Ahmedabad, according to a statement from the company.
The production line plans to begin operation in 2027, and will have an annual production capacity of 650,000 units, bringing the total capacity of this particular plant to 2.61 million units, making it Honda's largest motorcycle assembly plant, said the statement. CM Bhupendra Patel attended the HMSI event on Thursday and congratulated the company 'for achieving the production of 50 crore two-wheelers globally and 7 crore units in India'.
He also congratulated PM Narendra Modi and the Indian Armed Forces for the 'grand success of Operation Sindoor'.
A statement from the CMO said, 'Two and a half decades ago, there was no discussion about the automobile sector in Gujarat. After Shri Narendrabhai Modi assumed charge as the Chief Minister in 2001, the state has developed an ecosystem in the automobile sector like all other sectors.'
HMSI currently has four production plants in India with a total annual production capacity of 6.14 million units.
The Vithalapur 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. Furthermore, the third line started operation in January 2024, taking the annual production capacity to 1.96 million units.
Honda will be investing approximately Rs 9.2 billion to construct a fourth line capable of producing 650,000 units of 125cc class motorcycles per year. Tsutsumu Otani, President & CEO, HMSI said, 'Honda has long been investing and expanding its production capacity in India… to bring joy to its customers. 25 years on, HMSI has reached the milestone of 70 million units of cumulative production.'
CM Patel said, '… Japan has been an important partner in the development of Gujarat since the first series of Vibrant Gujarat Summit… with the commencement of Honda's fourth plant in Vithalapur, this plant will become the largest automobile plant in the world. This will create about 1,800 new jobs.'
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