With India gearing up to expand economic activities as per fresh guidelines issued by MHA under Lockdown 4.0, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) today announced that its production operations will resume at all its 4 plants in two phases. Needless to say, the lockdown has impacted the economy deeply especially the automotive sector.
With minimum business and manufacturing operations carried on the first three phases of the lockdown, things seem to gradually move forward in the fourth phase. With a 360-degree outlook of balancing the forward and backend linkages across its ecosystem & the evolving market demand, Honda has aligned its production plans.
Production will resume in a phased manner starting 25th May 2020 from its biggest plant in Narsapur in Karnataka followed by other three plants- Manesar (Haryana), Tapukara (Rajasthan) and Vithalapur (Gujarat) to follow soon from 1st week of June onwards in a staggered manner. To keep the business continuity in accordance with the guidelines issued by the government, nearly 99% of Honda’s 300+ supplier plants have received the necessary approvals to resume their operations. Honda suppliers are now in advanced stages of resuming production.
Through a media release statement, the Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer claims that it is taking a calibrated approach across its entire ecosystem ensuring synergy for stable and efficient operations. Over 60% of Honda dealers have by now resumed their sales & service operations. Initial enquiries, though still subdued compared to the pre-lockdown period, are picking up momentum every day. Hence, strategically aligning supply chain with market demand and available BS-6 inventory across its network, Honda is set to resume production from its 4 factories in a staggered manner from 25th May 2020.
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Safety Measures Implemented
Honda 2Wheelers India has issued a comprehensive Operations Resumption manual in addition to the applicable Central & State Government guidelines. This is applicable not only to Honda’s manufacturing plants but the entire ecosystem including its suppliers, logistic partners, dealerships and service centres across India.
The guidelines for all Honda plants extensively mandate safety precautions (like temperature screening, non-biometric entry and exit, mandatory face masks, regular sanitization & disinfection of common surfaces & vehicles carrying materials, work from home for pregnant ladies, no movement of individuals from hotspot zones, ample availability of hand wash / sanitizer, usage and disposal of PPEs, etc.), training & awareness modules on COVID-19, transport guidelines, COVID-19 health insurance cover (for all Honda permanent & contractual employees), strict social distancing measures across Honda offices (markings on the production line, partitions to maintain social distancing) and revised SOP for quality checks, etc.
The company stated it remains committed to ensuring the same high-quality product & services to all its customers. Honda, however, had started their dealership operations since the beginning of this month. The company claims it has sold 21,000 of its two-wheelers across the country since resuming dealership operations.