Honda 2 Wheelers closes FY 2016 on a high

Continuing to post positive growth for every consecutive year in its 15 years of Indian operations, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) closed FY’2015-16 with a bang.

Honda’s total sales for the fiscal stood at 4,483,459 two-wheelers while domestic sales closed at 4,283,345 units. Increased efficiency and flexibility in production translated to a growth of 1% even as Honda’s all 3 existing plants in India continued to run on peak capacity.

Creating a new high, Honda’s 2wheeler exports crossed the 2 lac mark (200,114 units) for the first time ever in fiscal year 2015-16!

FY’2015-16: Laying a sturdy foundation for booster growth in FY’2016-17

FIRST PREFERENCE OF MILLIONS: Today, every 7 seconds a new customer joins the growing Honda family which has crossed 23 million mark in India.

PRODUCTS: In FY’2015-16, Honda committed and delivered a blitzkrieg of 15 new models including flagship ‘Make-in-India’ CBR 650F. All the new launches taken off to a flying-start with LIVO, CB Hornet 160R, CB Unicorn 160 lead the fun revolution.

New Segment with NAVI: Disrupting Indian 2Wheeler industry like never before, Honda created a new segment in FUN riding with NAVI – a revolutionary ‘new kind of ride’ providing unlimited possibilities & unmatched freedom. NAVI is first 100% Honda R&D India model – from concept to commercial production.

Leadership in ATSC: Honda continues to retain its market dominance in the automatic scooter segment and leads the scooterization of industry. The iconic Activa was the No. 1 selling two-wheeler in 6 out of 11 months of this fiscal.

Growing in 110cc motorcycle segment: At a time when the 110cc motorcycle market continues to post negative growth, LIVO sales crossed 1.5 lac mark within 9 months of launch and it is now among the Top 10 selling motorcycles in India.

Leadership in 125cc motorcycle segment: Honda continues to retain its market dominance in the automatic scooter segment and 125cc motorcycle segment. Activa was the No. 1 selling two-wheeler in 6 out of 11 months of this fiscal.

New No. 2 in 150-200cc motorcycle segment: Backed by its recent launches CB Hornet 160R & CB Unicorn 160, Honda is now the 2nd largest player in 150-200cc motorcycle segment with 26% market share gaining from its 4th position in FY’14-15. CB Unicorn 160 emerged the fastest in its segment to complete 1 lac unit sales in just 7 months.

PRODUCTION CAPACITY: Expanding to meet customer demand more efficiently, Honda invested INR 1,100 crore and commenced production at its new 4th plant in India (Gujarat) with 1.2 million units annual capacity.

NETWORK: With new speed, Honda added approximately 2 new touch-points every day. HMSI expanded its network to 4,500+ mark and added 850 new touch-points in FY’16.

FESTIVE HIGH: India rode home on a Honda 2Wheeler this festive season. Not only did Honda breach the 1 million retail mark in 2 months but also recorded highest single day sales of 2.2 lac sales on Dhanteras.

TOP OF MIND BRAND RECALL: The young and vivacious Taapsee Pannu joined Bollywood khiladi Akshay Kumar in strengthening Honda’s connect with India on an emotional level. In August, Honda conducted the biggest ever engagement in Indian two-wheeler industry with the epic Revfest – 8 simultaneous live launches across India. Celebrating its fun connect with Indian youth, Honda 2Wheelers has announced title sponsorship in Honda Gladrags Mega Model & Manhunt 2016.

ROAD SAFETY PROMOTION: Over and above business, Honda and its dealers educated over 8 lac individuals on safe riding with special focus on females and kids. Honda adopted 2 new traffic parks in Ludhiana, Hyderabad and a Road Safety Education Center in Indore taking its total tally to 9 traffic parks.

ACCOLADES & RECOGNITIONS: In FY 2015-16, the biggest validation for Honda came from customers. Brand Honda became a Superbrand, was recognized as India’s Most Trusted Brand by Readers Digest & India’s Most Exciting two-wheeler brand by Brand Equity, Economic Times. Honda won 27 awards including 4 prestigious JD Power 2016 awards for Dream Neo (Best Economy Motorcycle*), CB Shine (Executive Segment**), CB Unicorn (Upper Executive Segment**) and CB Unicorn 160 (Premium Segment**).

• As per JD Power Initial Quality Two-Wheeler Study 2016
• As per JD Power 2016 India Two-Wheeler Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (2WAPEAL) Study.

Excerpts by Company:

Elaborating on the strategy for FY’2016-17, Mr. Keita Muramatsu, President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said,

"2016-17 is going to be Honda’s most definitive year in India. I am excited that with the new 4th plant, we will be able to delight more than 5 million new customers in one year for the first time in Indian operations. Our priorities will be strengthening the fun connect of Wing mark with Indian youth, make all our models BS-IV compliant at the earliest for added customer convenience while continue to aggressively make inroads into rural India. As World’s largest two-wheeler company, Honda will not only lead from the front with its strong double digit growth in fiscal year 2016-17 but also re-define and revolutionize the way young Indians ride a two-wheeler."

Honda

Speaking on the highlights of Honda’s performance in FY’15-16, Mr. Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Senior Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said,

"From a strategic perspective, FY’2015-16 was like a base camp for Honda and now we are fully armed for the steep climb in FY’2016-17. As part of our future preparedness, Honda aggressively invested in innovative promotion. Digital marketing activities and created top-of-the-mind recall in customers minds. All this, reinforced the differentiated Wing mark identity of Honda 2Wheelers in India."