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Tag: honda

  • Honda 2Wheeler India Likely To Start Production On Gujarat Plant’s Third Line In Next 2-3 Years

    Honda 2Wheeler India Likely To Start Production On Gujarat Plant’s Third Line In Next 2-3 Years

    Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India is likely to initiate production on the third line of its Gujarat Plant in the next two to three years. According to a recent report from PTI, the two-wheeler manufacturer took this step as demand has shrunk in the market due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company commenced the construction activity of a third line to add six lakh units per annum at its Gujarat plant to increase total capacity to 12 lakh units per annum.

    Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Director – Sales & Marketing, HMSI said, “As for our new line which we had made in our fourth factory in Gujarat, we call it our third line. The construction activity and other activities went on as per schedule. However, we have put on hold the decision on when to start production at that line because the overall market has shrunk. In terms of demand, the existing lines and existing capacity are good enough to take care of the demand, which is currently in the market and in the coming next two years or so.”

    He further said, “It depends on how quickly the market rebounds and the new demand shoots, green shoots visible to us. That is the only time we will decide to start production in the third line. From today’s point of view, since the overall market condition is very fluid and a lot of unpredictability around, it looks like two to three years”.

    The company’s business is majorly contributed by scooters which constitute 60 to 65 percent while the remaining business comes from motorcycles. Currently, the two-wheeler maker has four production facilities across the country that are located at Manesar in Harayana, Tapukara in Rajasthan, Narsapura in Karnataka and Vithalapur in Gujarat. The total annual production capacity of all these four plants stands at 64 lakh units.

    The company official said the Indian two-wheeler industry has been hit adversely due to the pandemic which is down by 25 percent. While motorcycle and scooter segments are down by 22 percent and 33 percent respectively. However, the company had to face its challenges as the business is majorly driven from urban India, which had been in the lockdown for a significant number of days than the rural India that reflected on the business.

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  • Honda Two-Wheeler India Announces Voluntary Retirement Scheme For Employees

    Honda Two-Wheeler India Announces Voluntary Retirement Scheme For Employees

    Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India has initiated a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for the company’s permanent employees. The decision comes in the middle of challenging market conditions and a downturn in the Indian economy, although the automotive industry has seen somewhat of a bounceback after the challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. The VRS will run from January 5 till January 23 this year and cover permanent employees, barring director-level officials. Permanent employees who have completed 10 years with the company as on January 31, 2021 or who are above 40 years of age can opt for the V ₹

    In a statement, HMSI said that the Indian auto industry is going through an exceptionally challenging phase from the past three years “considering the prolonged demand slowdown and overall economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

    “The VRS scheme announcement for our associates is a part of Honda’s overall production realignment strategy across all 4 factories to improve our operational efficiency with the objective of ensuring long-term business sustainability,” HMSI said in a press statement.

    “As part of this strategy, the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) option for all eligible permanent associates. It gives a new opportunity to those associates who may wish to explore new dimensions in their life and empowers them with best among the industry financial and healthcare benefits, while helping the organisation improve its overall operational efficiency,” the statement added.

    Under the VRS, Senior Managers, Vice-Presidents and permanent workmen can get a maximum amount of ₹ 72 lakh. Managers can get ₹ 67 lakh, Deputy Manager , Assistant Manager, Senior Executive, Executive and Assistant Executive. The company is also offering ₹ 5 lakh extra for the first 400 employees who opt for the scheme.

    In December 2020, HMSI reported domestic sales of 2,42,046 units, just a 5 percent increase over the same month a year ago. Exports accounted for 20,981 units, with total December 2020 sales at 2,63,027 units. The October to December 2020 quarter stood out as the first quarter of the current financial year where Honda reported positive sales.

  • Honda Recalling 1.79 Million Vehicles Worldwide For Safety Issues

    Honda Recalling 1.79 Million Vehicles Worldwide For Safety Issues

    Honda Motor said on Tuesday it was recalling 1.79 million vehicles worldwide in four separate campaigns, including some linked to reported fires. The recalls cover 1.4 million vehicles in the United States. The Japanese automaker said one recall covers 268,000 2002-2006 model year CR-V vehicles in the United States to replace power window master switches. Honda said there had been no reported injuries, but 16 fires reported related to the issue.

    Honda conducted a prior recall of the power window master switches in 2012. The new recall is in response to moisture-related failures of switches repaired under the previous campaign.

    One recall covers 268,000 2002-2006 model year CR-V vehicles in the United States to replace power window master switches.

    Honda is also recalling about 735,000 U.S. 2018-2020 Accord, Accord Hybrid and 2019-2020 Insight vehicles to update the Body Control Module software. A programming flaw could disrupt communication causing illumination of several warning lights and malfunction of electronic components, it said, including “the rearview camera display, turn signals and windshield wipers.”

    Honda is also issuing two recalls covering 430,000 U.S. vehicles in 22 U.S. states and the District of Columbia with significant road salt use to inspect and potentially replace front driveshafts. Both are in response to possible breakage of the drive shafts due to corrosion. No injuries have been reported in relation any of the recalls, the company said.

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  • Honda To Introduce New 110 cc Motorcycle In India

    Honda To Introduce New 110 cc Motorcycle In India

    Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), one of India’s leading two-wheeler manufacturers, is getting ready to launch a new affordable motorcycle in the 110 cc category. Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Director, Sales and Marketing, HMSI, said that with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a new customer has emerged who would like to shift from public transport to personal mobility. Keeping this new customer in mind, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India is working on an affordable motorcycle which will cater to both urban and semi-urban geographies.

    “As we proceed towards Unlock 5.0, more and more people are focusing on personal mobility. Our market research shows there is a new customer who is not very comfortable at this stage of using public transport and would prefer an affordable two-wheeler. While we have launched the Hornet 2.0 and the H’Ness CB 350 in the premium segment, work is also on to introduce an affordable 110 cc motorcycle. At this stage, I can’t share a timeline on when we will introduce the product, but it will be introduced,” Guleria said during a one-on-one interaction.

    According to Guleria, almost 95 percent of Honda’s sales and distribution network is now operational. While September wholesale despatches of two-wheelers have been encouraging, he cautioned that the real picture of the industry will emerge from actual retail sales. At this point, he said, there’s still some pent-up demand for two-wheelers which is being met. Going forward, the festive season is expected to usher in some cheer to two-wheeler sales as well, but he cautioned that sustainable growth in the industry will depend on how the economy and the overall sentiment shape up in the months ahead.

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  • Honda Motorcycle And Scooter India To Launch A New Premium Motorcycle This Month

    Honda Motorcycle And Scooter India To Launch A New Premium Motorcycle This Month

    Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India are all set to launch a new premium motorcycle on September 30, 2020. But which motorcycle is it exactly, is still a mystery. For all you know, it could be the Honda CBR1000RR-R, whose bookings started in July itself. But our sources suggest that it is likely to be an all-new model, which will have a displacement between 300 cc to 500 cc and the model is likely to go up against Royal Enfield, the king of the segment in that range.

    Honda has updated its 500 cc range of motorcycles for 2021 featuring all-new color schemes, as well as other minor changes to bring them in line with the latest emission regulations for global markets. These include the Honda CB500X, Honda CBR500R, and the Honda CB500F. So the new model could be one of the updated 500 cc models too.

    We suspect that Honda is likely to use an existing international model, set it up according to India (specifications and equipment), and introduce it as a new model. The company did something similar with the Honda Hornet 2.0. It is based on the CB190R, which is an international model.

    Though, the one detail Honda confirms is that the new motorcycle will be an all-new model for India. The new model will be retailed through Honda’s BigWing network which exclusively caters to sales and after-sales of Honda’s premium 300 cc plus bikes. Expect the company to release more information closer to the date of the launch.

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  • Honda Sees Drop In Annual Profit As Coronavirus Slams Car Sales

    Honda Sees Drop In Annual Profit As Coronavirus Slams Car Sales

    Japan’s Honda Motor Co on Wednesday forecast a 68 percent decrease in annual operating profit to a 10-year low with global demand for cars expected to slide because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    The country’s No. 3 automaker expects profit to sink to 200 billion yen ($1.89 billion) in the year to end-March 2021, its weakest since the 2010/11 year, and undershooting analyst estimates.

    Honda is bracing for a 6 percent decrease in annual vehicle sales after a 40 percent plunge in the June quarter, which resulted in a 113.7 billion yen operating loss.

    Global automakers are taking a big hit from the coronavirus outbreak, which shuttered vehicle factories this year and has kept customers out of car dealerships.

    The maker of the CR-V SUV crossover and the Fit compact hatchback expects to sell 4.5 million vehicles this year, versus 4.79 million last year. It predicts a 16 percent sales slide in North America, a key market where the United States is struggling to control a surge in virus infections.

    “If the current situation continues as is, we think the situation will not get worse (than we saw earlier this year), but it will take time for demand to recover to pre-pandemic levels,” Executive Vice President Seiji Kuraishi told a live-streamed briefing.

    Despite weaker sales in North America, Honda expects annual sales in Asia to increase by 8 percent.

    China, one of Honda’s biggest markets, has become a rare bright spot for many global automakers, as demand in the world’s biggest car market has been recovering faster than in other countries.

    Honda sank into the red for the second straight quarter and posted its worst operating loss since the March 2009 quarter.

    Despite its dire outlook, Honda is weathering the coronavirus pandemic better than rivals Nissan Motor Co, Mitsubishi Motor Corp and Mazda Motor Corp, which last week forecast record operating losses for the year.

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  • Honda most searched vehicle brand in Vietnam

    Honda most searched vehicle brand in Vietnam

    Honda, Toyota, BMW, Mitsubishi, and Suzuki are the five most googled car brands in Vietnam, market research firm iPrice said.

    The Malaysia-based meta-search website, which operates in Vietnam and six other countries across Southeast Asia, said it considered 22 car brands googled between March 1 and May 31 this year to find the most searched brands.

    Honda topped the list since it produces both motorbikes and cars, and has an 80 percent share of the motorbike market.

    It was also the most googled brand in Thailand and Indonesia. In the Philippines, it was Toyota.

    In Singapore and Hong Kong, which prioritize green transportation, American electric vehicle brand Tesla was in first place.

    Across the seven markets, Honda was the most googled brand with 550,000 searches, followed by Toyota (368,000) and BMW (301,000). Tesla and Mitsubishi tied with 246,000 to round off the top five.

    The study also found that SUVs were the most searched cars in all seven markets, followed by sedans, MPV/WGNs, hatchbacks, and coupes.

    According to data from Vietnamese manufacturer Thanh Cong Motor and the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), Toyota Vios was the most sold model in the first half of this year with 11,244 units.

    Sales of VAMA members, who account for more than 95 percent of the market, were down 30 percent year-on-year to 102,720 vehicles.

  • Honda Will Continue To Offer The Previous Gen City Alongside The New-Gen Model

    Honda Will Continue To Offer The Previous Gen City Alongside The New-Gen Model

    The upcoming new-generation Honda City is all set to be launched in India in the coming weeks, and now we have information that the company will continue to sell the existing model alongside the new-gen Honda City. The previous-gen Honda City, is already BS6 compliant, which means the carmaker can continue to produce it in India, and by having both models, the company intends to offer a wider range of options for customers. It is the first time that the company will be adopting this strategy for a product in India. Now even though the existing model in the fourth generation of the Honda City in India, globally it is the sixth-gen model, and the same principle applies to the upcoming City as well.

    Speaking to us in the latest episode of Freewheeling with SVP, Rajesh Goel, Sr. Vice President & Director, Sales & Marketing, Honda Cars India said, “The current City, the fourth generation as we call it, is also BS6 certified, and we were selling the BS6 certified, current City before the lockdown happened. So, technically, we can keep producing it, and we intend to keep offering the fourth and the new fifth-generation City parallelly to offer a wider choice to the customers, across various price bands, and also, there has been a demand from various people. It happens with almost every generation of the City, as to ‘why do you need to discontinue this’. So, respecting the opinion, I think we intend to keep both the fourth and the fifth generation of the City together. So that customers depending on who likes what and what price point suits which customer, we have a great lot of options available to satisfy all our customers.”

    Now, this is not the first time that we have seen a carmaker simultaneously sell two different generations of a model in India. Maruti Suzuki has been selling the previous-gen Dzire for the fleet market, whereas, Hyundai India, too follows this strategy with the previous-gen Grand i10 and Xcent. So, when asked whether Honda too only plans to offer the lower variants of the older City to make to maintain a lower price point, Goel said, “I think City has been a car, which has been a highly desirable brand, and it has been kind of a benchmark, so to say. A car which everybody wants to drive in that segment and therefore most customers, of the City, in any generation have always preferred to own a kind of a loaded version. So, I do not, obviously intend to sell a bare version of the old City just to keep the price point low, that’s not the intent.”

    The current-generation Honda City is offered in seven variants and is powered by only a 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol engine which is now BS6 compliant and is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard while a CVT automatic gearbox is optional. Rakesh Goel has confirmed that the car will continue to remain a petrol-only model, however, the new-generation City will be offered with both petrol and diesel engine options. While the petrol version of the new-gen Honda City will share its powertrain with the older model, the diesel version will get a new oil burner. Transmission options for the new Honda City are likely to include a 5-speed manual and a CVT automatic transmission.

  • Current Generation Honda City to Continue with only the Petrol Engine

    Current Generation Honda City to Continue with only the Petrol Engine

    The fifth-generation Honda City was slated to debut in March this year but the unprecedented lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic has pushed the launch for the all-new model. The new-gen Honda City launch is just around the corner. In an interesting move, the fifth generation and the fourth generation (current) models will co-exist in the market. Rajesh Goel, Senior Vice President & Director, Sales & Marketing, Honda Cars India, confirmed the development on the latest episode of Freewheeling With SVP and said, “In the fourth generation, the BS6 is only available on the petrol, and that’s how we intend to keep it. ”

    Elaborating more on the same, Goel revealed that while the next-generation Honda City will be sold in both petrol and diesel engine options, the current model will get only the 1.5-liter BS6 petrol engine. The sedan was updated to the BS6 norms earlier this year and the move could see Honda take a dual approach to the compact sedan segment with a wider portfolio. The fourth-gen Honda City has been around for a while and continues to be a popular seller in the segment. It is likely that the model will get a more competitive price tag that will help take on the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and the entry-level trims of the Hyundai Verna, Volkswagen Vento and the Toyota Yaris. Meanwhile, the 2020 Honda City will be a major overhaul over its predecessor and will see an all-new 1.5-liter petrol engine with more power, a revised diesel engine and a host of new features and goodies on offer.

    While there have been rumors that Honda plans to target the fleet segment with the sale of the current generation City in India, the same is yet to be confirmed by the automaker. Goel also did not reveal the variant break-up on the old City, but did say that the model will be sold in a fairly loaded guise, in-line with the premium benchmark that the City has set for itself over the last two decades across four generations.

    The move does beg the question if the new generation Honda City will see a premium price tag. The sedan made its debut in Thailand last year and looks extremely promising with an appreciable list of features. It’s also grown in proportions and is now wider and longer by a considerable margin. The new car also mimics the cabin from the new generation Jazz, which makes it a clutter-free yet feature-laden interior.

    With respect to the current model, the fourth generation Honda City gets all the essentials including the touchscreen infotainment system and even the HondaConnect app. Power comes from the BS6 compliant 1.5-liter i-VTEC petrol motor that develops 117 bhp and 145 Nm of peak torque. The motor is paired with a 5-speed manual and a CVT automatic. It will be interesting to see if the current Honda City will be offered with a CVT once the new model arrives.

    In contrast, the all-new Honda City uses a revised 1.5-liter petrol engine that develops 119 bhp while peak torque remains the same at 145 Nm. Expect the transmission options to remain the same. The 1.5-liter i-DTEC diesel, on the other hand, makes 99 bhp and 200 Nm, and is paired with a 6-speed manual.

    The new-generation Honda City is expected to debut in a few weeks and initial production will be restricted till the company chooses to scale things up, depending on the situation. More details will be available in the coming days.

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  • Honda Retrofits 10 Minivans To Transport Detroiters For Virus Tests

    Honda Retrofits 10 Minivans To Transport Detroiters For Virus Tests

    Honda Motor Co said on Tuesday it has delivered 10 modified Odyssey minivans to the city of Detroit to safely transport healthcare workers and people potentially infected with COVID-19 for testing in one of the U.S. cities that has been hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

    The minivans have been retrofitted with a plastic barrier behind the front seating area and a modified ventilation system to maintain an air pressure differential between the front and rear seating areas to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission.

    Detroit has been especially hard hit by the outbreak, reporting 9,394 cases to date and 1,097 deaths through Monday, or 26% of all COVID-19 fatalities in Michigan.

    The Japanese automaker in April said it had remodeled 50 minivans to transport COVID-19 patients to hospitals and quarantine facilities in Japan, sealing off the rear section of the vehicles to keep drivers safe from infection.

    From the newly launched Hyundai Creta to the soon to be launched new-gen Honda City, here are 5 car we are eager to get our hands on as soon as the lockdown ends.

    After reading news reports, officials from the state of Michigan and city of Detroit approached Honda about the possibility of acquiring similar vehicles.

    A team of volunteers at Honda’s R&D center in Ohio conceived and designed a method to quickly modify the U.S. Odyssey. The minivans have a sealed clear polycarbonate panel between the front seat compartment and rear two-row seating area, while the ventilation system software was rewritten to ensure different pressure levels between the front and rear compartments.

    Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan noted the city has tested over 20,000 residents and employees for COVID-19. Many people in the city lack access to personal transportation.

    “Transportation is a critical component of ensuring every Detroiter has access to a test. We are very appreciative of Honda for choosing Detroit to deploy these newly modified vehicles,” Duggan said in a statement.

    Honda engineers and other employees in Ohio took the project from the initial concept to completion in less than two weeks.

    “We’re very proud of the efforts made by Honda engineers in Ohio to quickly devise a plan and modify a small fleet of Honda Odyssey minivans to support the people of Detroit in the face of this unprecedented global pandemic,” said Rick Schostek, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co.

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  • BMW Begins Online Sales For New & Used Cars Amidst Lockdown In India

    BMW Begins Online Sales For New & Used Cars Amidst Lockdown In India

    Joining the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Honda, and Volkswagen, BMW India has announced its new online platform for the sale of new and used cars. The new BMW Contactless Experience takes the car buying process virtual and enables customers to explore and buy not just new vehicles but pre-owned cars as well. In addition, the Contactless Experience allows customers to book vehicle service and make payments online, all from the safety of their homes. The BMW Contactless Experience was introduced on April 2, 2020, in the country. The new initiative is a part of several measures taken by the automaker for customers during the lockdown.

    Speaking on the new initiative, Arlindo Teixeira, Acting President, BMW Group India said, “At BMW, customers are at the core of everything we do. Amidst the current pandemic situation, we have successfully transformed our business processes and put in place various measures to effectively and efficiently serve our existing customers and prospects by leveraging new-age digital technologies. An industry-first comprehensive initiative, the BMW Contactless Experience offers consumers an all-new way to explore and experience the world of BMW while being in the comfort of their homes. Since its launch in April 2020, we have seen a tremendous increase in customer engagement, configuration requests, and virtual product presentations on this platform. As business dynamics evolve post the current COVID -19 pandemic, the BMW Contactless Experience will play a crucial role in offering seamless sales and aftersales services to our existing and new customers. We will bring joy to our customers no matter where they are.”

    The BMW Contactless Experience not only allows customers to learn about their vehicle online but also personalize their preferred car, finance options, and service packages. A dealer representative online will be interacting with the customer online in real-time to guide the same. Customers can also have a 360-degree view of the vehicle on their phones, tablets of personal devices, and interact with the sales consultant. BMW Financial Services will also help procure finance for the vehicles with customized financial solutions, depending on the customer.

    For existing BMW customers, the Contactless Experience extends to booking a service appointment online, type of service required, and the pick-up and drop details. The service cost estimates and details of the service are sent for customer approval using BMW Smart Video. The serviced vehicles are also fully sanitized before being delivered to customers. The deliveries and servicing, however, will be done adhering to the local government directives post the lockdown. Ensuring the safety of the customers, BMW will sanitize the cars before delivering it to the customer with all the physical documents in a sanitized envelope.

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  • Honda and Yamaha Prepare To Resume Operations In India

    Honda and Yamaha Prepare To Resume Operations In India

    Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) and India Yamaha Motor are keen to resume manufacturing operations at their respective plants after the lockdown is lifted. India has been under a complete lockdown since March 24, 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak which has crippled industry around the world. India’s automakers, including two-wheeler manufacturers in the world’s largest two-wheeler market, have been suffering heavy losses during this time, with plants and dealerships shut down across the country as India tries to prevent the highly contagious COVID-19 virus from spreading further.

    According to reports, HMSI has already sought permission to open its plants, and Yamaha is keen to start production in compliance with new protocols laid down by the government. However, both India Yamaha and HMSI will likely take some time to kickstart operations with many component suppliers also shut in the current lockdown. At the same time, it may take some time for workers to return from their native places, without public transport, including railways, in-land and air travel being resumed. While May 3, 2020 is till when the lockdown will be in force, it is generally expected that the countrywide lockdown will be extended, with some specific relaxations with guidelines announced in the next few weeks for a few sectors, including manufacturing.

    HMSI has four manufacturing plants at Manesar in Haryana, Tapukara in Rajasthan, Narsapura in Karnataka, and Vithalapur in Gujarat, with a total installed production capacity of 64 lakh units per annum. India Yamaha has three manufacturing plants at Faridabad in Haryana, Surajpur, in Uttar Pradesh, and Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu.

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  • Honda, Fiat Chrysler Aim To Restart production in U.S.

    Honda, Fiat Chrysler Aim To Restart production in U.S.

    Honda Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said on Monday they hope to restart U.S. and Canadian auto production in May amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

    The Japanese automaker halted production on March 23 and said it will extend the halt through May 1.

    Fiat Chrysler said Monday it “intends to progressively restart its U.S. and Canadian manufacturing facilities beginning May 4.”

    U.S. President Donald Trump last week extended the guidelines aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus to April 30.

    US auto industry executives say it will be nearly impossible for companies to resume production before the end of the month

    Several U.S. auto industry executives told Reuters on Monday it will be nearly impossible for companies to resume production before the end of the month — and there is no assurance automakers will be able to resume production in early May. Other automakers plan to extend current production halts later this week, automakers told Reuters.

    It will also take auto suppliers time to resume production. In an internal estimate, Ford Motor Co said last week it believed 600,000 U.S. industry auto sales may have been lost in March because of the coronavirus outbreak.

    The threat from the coronavirus crisis closed in on the global auto industry on Thursday, as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV warned that a European plant could shut down within two to four weeks if Chinese parts suppliers cannot get back to work.

    Honda noted many consumers are unable to purchase vehicles and said it “must continue to suspend production in order to align product supply with a lack of market demand.” Some states have barred car dealers from selling new cars while “stay at home” order are in place.

    Last week, Nissan Motor Co said it would extend its U.S. production halt into late April. Toyota Motor Corp has halted U.S. and Canadian production through April 17.

    Ford said last week it was postponing its plan to restart production at its North America. Ford had been aiming to resume production at several key U.S. plants on April 14, but then said it would now do so at dates to be announced later. Ford said Monday it is “continuing to assess public health conditions, government guidelines and supplier readiness to determine when the time is right to resume production in our North American plants.”

    General Motors Co has shuttered its plants indefinitely and has not provided a date for vehicle production to restart.

    Automakers are working on additional employee protections to add when they restart, including new personal protective gear, staggering shift starts, more frequent cleanings and new social distancing rules.

    Fiat Chrysler said it will redesign “work stations to maintain proper social distancing and expanding the already extensive cleaning protocols at all locations.”

  • Honda Extends North American Auto Plant Shutdowns

    Honda Extends North American Auto Plant Shutdowns

    Honda Motor Co has said that it will extend a shutdown of all U.S. and Canadian auto plant production through April 10 and at its plant in Celaya, central Mexico, until April 13, because of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

    Honda’s plant in El Salto in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, will also suspend production operations between April 4 and April 13, Honda’s Mexican unit said.

    Companies all over the world are joining in the battle against coronavirus, helping to make ventilators, face masks and hand sanitizer.

    A growing number of automakers have said they will not restart U.S. production until at least mid-April as demand sharply falls off for auto sales. Honda began its auto production halt on March 23.

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  • Honda Motorcycle And Scooter India To Start Testing A New Electric Scooter

    Honda Motorcycle And Scooter India To Start Testing A New Electric Scooter

    Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), the second-largest two-wheeler brand by volume in India, is all set to start testing an electric scooter. While HMSI has time and again maintained that there’s no plan for developing electric two-wheelers, the latest development does seem to indicate that Honda will now test waters to possibly develop an electric two-wheeler. The development comes after we brought you an exclusive report about India’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp, working on the Hero eMaestro electric scooter. Now, it seems Honda is not averse to working on an all-electric two-wheeler after all. While electric vehicles do seem to be the next growth of the automotive industry, Honda has not confirmed a timeline, or if at all an electric scooter will be developed and launched in India.

    Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, HMSI, said, “We are bringing one of our electric scooters to India which will be basically used for the study. We will be doing a market survey and feasibility survey with this model and decide on the roadmap of future EVs of Honda in India. It’s very difficult to set the next future line-up but the survey will be starting in the next three to four months.”

    However, Honda hasn’t shared any plans about launching the scooter in India yet as the EV industry is still in a nascent stage. Though the industry is trying to speed up the process of EV adoption, there are quite a few complications automakers will have to resolve in a bid to make EVs as viable as any regular two-wheeler. “We see that there is an effort by the Indian two-wheeler makers as well as the Society Of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and certain talks are there. But there are other challenges as well in terms of the EV infrastructure, in terms of charging infrastructure, the real performance of the vehicle and the range of the vehicle. So, these are the challenges, in the long run, the industry really will have to tackle,” Guleria added.

    Honda is yet to share details about the scooter that will undergo testing in India and chances of it making to production will depend on its real-world performance on the road and how well the industry can deal with the challenges. For now though, there’s no concrete word on if Honda will go on to the next phase of designing and developing an electric two-wheeler for India. The feasibility study with the electric scooter may be the first step in that direction. With more and more mainstream two-wheeler manufacturers going electric, Honda definitely doesn’t want to be left out. TVS Motor Company has already launched the iQube electric scooter, and Bajaj Auto has revived the legendary Chetak name in the company’s new electric scooter. With Hero MotoCorp also planning to launch the eMaestro, Honda certainly seems to be looking to join the electric bandwagon as well.