Honda eyes larger role for India as global 2-wheeler hub

Honda plans to expand the role of India for its two-wheeler business in the coming years.

“With a strong sales and service network of 6,000 stores across India, our sales volumes are increasing. We are growing to the point where we are poised to become the market leader,” the company has indicated in its Honda Corporate Update Report 2025 that has been uploaded on the global website.

While reiterating that the goal is to strengthen competitiveness in all directions and aim for the “number one” market share, Honda has said that its R&D centre at Manesar in Haryana will play a key role in this endeavour.

This will include strengthening development capabilities in India to quickly respond to changing customer needs and commercialise products. There will also be an increase in the pace of model development where the focus will be on electric vehicles and sub-190cc ICE models.

This will be accompanied by development of cost-competitive and attractive products planned by Honda R&D (India) in Bengaluru using local resources in terms of people, parts and suppliers.

The Bengaluru facility, in its turn, will look at rapid integration of cutting-edge technologies through open innovation; initiatives in software and connected services and long-term creation of new services and businesses.

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Boosting overseas shipments from India

Honda will also strengthen exports from India by improving competitiveness in development, procurement and production. It will expand the business by shipping out its scooters and motorcycles to Central and South America where customer needs are similar to India.

With India evolving as an export hub for the global market, there will be a sequential launch of mid-sized displacement models that will be shipped out to Europe during the course of this calendar. Competitiveness enhancement will happen through high-quality and reasonably priced products, states the report.

At present, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India exports to 62 countries spread across North, Central and South America, Europe, Asia Oceania, the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East. Globally, the company has 40 per cent share of the total two-wheeler arena totalling 50 million units.

The Japanese automaker has estimated that this global tally will increase to 60 million units by the end of this decade where it has targeted a 50 per cent share. Right now, India is the largest two-wheeler market with 20 million units produced globally and Honda is the No 2 player here.

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Up against formidable rivals

By the end of this decade, it would be a fair bet to assume that total two-wheeler production in India will be up to 26 million units which will comprise electric vehicles in addition to the ICE basket of scooters and motorcycles. Quite unlike the ASEAN region and Latin America, where Honda is the monarch of all it surveys, it is up against stiff local competition in India in the form of Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor Company and Bajaj Auto.

Doubtless, it is a strong No 2 but still has not been able to dislodge its former ally, Hero, from the top slot even while that remains its obsessive, yet elusive, goal for many years now. Whether it manages to do so this fiscal remains to be seen.

What is particularly noticeable, however, is that Honda has not managed to make any impact with its electric scooters, Activa e: and QC 1, which have been on the roads for a year now. Legacy players like TVS and Bajaj are in the top two places with Ather and Hero doing well too. Honda is literally nowhere on the scene and will really need to up its game in the electric space.

The company has already announced its intent to set up a dedicated electric two-wheeler plant in India by 2028. The Corporate Update Report states that it hopes to attain the No.1 market share in this space but this is not going to be a cakewalk especially with established players going all out with the launch of new models.

Multiple models planned in new facility

A slew of electric two-wheelers will be produced at the new facility by combining modules which are common for multiple models. For batteries, the core component of electric models, Honda has been working with (battery) manufacturers to establish specifications suited to the characteristics of two-wheelers and ensure stable procurement.

With the new plant, Honda is keen on reducing total cost of ownership (TCO) in electric scooters. The company wants g to sell its electric models in the price range where the “TCO for the three years of ownership will be equivalent to that of ICE (internal combustion engine) models”.

This new facility along with a series of other initiatives will see Honda striving to “capture the largest market share” in India’s electric two-wheeler market. The idea is to offer a wide variety of models that accommodate “increasingly diverse customer needs”.

In its Integrated Report 2025 released in the second half of last year, Honda said that by adopting modularisation technology and other measures at the new electric facility, it aims to create a “flexible and highly efficient production system” by reducing the length of the assembly line by about 40 per cent compared to conventional setups.

The lightness of being

The Integrated Report states that the Japanese automaker is also carrying out advanced initiatives in terms of production technology. “For example, to achieve lighter products, we are thinning aluminum parts and replacing materials with lightweight steel, thereby realising high-quality vehicle bodies that achieve both lightness and strength through advanced processing technologies,” it elaborates.

In addition, Honda is working to reduce environmental impact by gradually expanding the application of recycled materials to its models. “In terms of energy supply at our factories, we are increasing the installation area of solar panels while also introducing equipment to store the electricity generated,” it has said.

In its march towards carbon neutrality, the company will establish a highly efficient and flexible production system throughout the entire value chain, including production and procurement. It is also actively introducing two-wheelers with equipment that uses connected technologies.

Competitively priced EVs

The Japanese auto brand will continue to reduce costs by improving production efficiency through automation and labour saving, as well as by promoting local production and consumption, in order to provide electric two-wheelers at competitive prices.

“Together with these initiatives, we will create new value that only Honda can offer by combining the strengths developed through our ICE with the unique value of electrification, aiming for the top market share in electric two-wheelers as well,” it has said. Meanwhile, the company is conducting various initiatives from the “perspective of resource circulation, including secondary use and recycling of batteries”.

In India, in collaboration with OMC Power, which operates a distributed power supply and grid business, Honda will deploy Honda Mobile Power Pack e: as power feeders which will help people in areas with unstable power supply and off-grid areas, supplying power to local stores and schools.

In addition to reducing CO2 emissions by improving fuel efficiency, Honda is leveraging its experience in Brazil of introducing flex fuel models compatible with a blend of fuels such as gasoline and ethanol.