Scooter segment in India is growing rapidly. Scooters form 27% of the total two-wheeler market compared to just 8% a decade back. Manufacturers in the Indian automobile market have understood the importance of this segment and are already planning to introduce more products in this segment.
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India which has enjoyed a huge success and gained major share of the scooter market because of its successful product, Activa, is now planning to set up its largest scooter plant in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. With this upcoming plant, Honda’s production capacity will rise by 12 lakh units annually. Honda will invest Rs 1,100 crore on this new plant. After the commencement of this plant, Honda’s total production capacity is expected to reach 58 lakh units.
Expressing his views on the growing scooter market, YS Guleria, Honda VP for marketing and sales in India said, “Even as we have more than doubled our scooter capacity in India, we have not been able to match up with the demand. After 13 years of its launch, Activa continues to be on ‘waiting’ even as competition has multiplied ten times.”
The scooter segment has become a crucial factor for all two wheeler manufacturers and Honda’s competitors are already gearing up to add new products in this category. Another Japanese two wheeler maker, Suzuki, plans to introduce 4 new scooters to its line-up for India.
Manufacturers are already cashing in on this opportunity as scooters grew 23% to sell 3.60 million units in the fiscal ended March. With more and more growing traffic issues, we feel that the gearless scooters would continue their upward sales momentum.
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Source: ET Auto