August 1999 was when Honda started their independent two-wheeler operations in India. Production at the Manesar plant though, started only in June 2001. Since then a lot has changed. From a motorcycle-centric market, the industry has accepted automatic scooters to be a major entity. But have you ever wondered, amidst its rivalry with erstwhile partner Hero, how many units has Honda sold in India? 28 million!
Yes, that’s the number of two-wheelers Honda has sold in the country. The Honda Activa has been their best seller with 13.8 million units sold! Their dealership network stands at 4,800 touch points with plans to expand it to 5,300 by March 2017. A special mention here must also be made for the Navi. The peppy little scooter was showcased at the Auto Expo for the first time and boy, it certainly helped break the monotonous design philosophy so dominant in the 110 cc automatic scooter territory.
The Navi has so far crossed the 50,000 units mark in its first 6 months! That is a pretty encouraging move for a newcomer. The Navi is now available with a new utility box. Production has been increased and is now exported to Nepal and other South East Asian markets.
So what does Honda plan to do in the near future? While their four factories are running at full capacity (that’s an annual production of 5.8 million units!), the company has no plans to introduce new products this year. The range will be updated to BSIV models from December onwards. There are words of a new variant to be added to the Navi but the next true launch is expected to be the Africa Twin, a premium adventure tourer.
Honda India has confirmed to BikeAdvice earlier that the Africa Twin will be launching in India in mid-2017.
