[Aditya]

Japanese two-wheeler major Honda has gone past the 20 million (2 crore) customer base mark in India. The company's 20 millionth vehicle was rolled out last week, less than 14 years since the it began operations in the country.

Honda has sells the Activa, which has been India's largest-selling automatic scooter for a while now. The company has a 55% share in the automatic scooter segment. It is in the process of setting up its fourth plant in India. Located at Vithalapur, in Ahmedabad district of Gujarat, the new factory will be spread across 80 acres of land and will have an annual manufacturing capacity of 1.2 million units. It is slated to be the world's biggest scooter manufacturing facility. Once the plant is commissioned, Honda's total annual production capacity will be increased to 5.8 million units.

The company also sells the country's most popular 125 cc motorcycle, the CB Shine.

In the Indian two-wheeler market, Honda has a market share of 28.4% and a growth rate of 23%. At present, the company lies in second place with Hero MotoCorp, its former collaborator, in the lead.

[Poloprasad]

Originally Posted by Aditya

In the Indian two-wheeler market, Honda has a market share of 28.4% and a growth rate of 23%. At present, the company lies in second place with Hero MotoCorp, its former collaborator, in the lead.

Honda has a very good growth rate every year. When Hero & Honda had a JV, they were leading the two wheeler segment and players like Bajaj & Yamaha were following them on 2nd & 3rd position respectively. Now the separation of JV between two is getting tough for Bajaj with tight competition from Yamaha too. Bajaj needs a strong comeback.

[GTO]

From the 2-wheeler sales thread, I see that Honda is firmly ensconced at the no. 2 position. For Honda to manage 4 lakh sales a month in merely 5 years since the Hero-Honda divorce, it's quite something. They're also growing at a faster rate than Hero.

Originally Posted by RSR

January 2015 total 2-wheeler sales {domestic + export} (January 2014 numbers in parenthesis):

Hero ↓ - 5,58,982 (5,61,263)
Honda ↑ - 3,93,787 (3,44,678)
Bajaj ↓ - 2,46,955 (2,81,390)
TVS ↑ - 1,81,516 (1,79,576)
Suzuki ↑ - 33,405 (27,825)
Royal Enfield ↑ - 28,927 (20,232)
Mahindra ↓ - 13,022 (24,990)

Back of the envelope calculations tell me that the turnover from Honda's 2-wheeler business is perhaps more than Honda cars.

Here's an excellent writeup on Hero vs Honda.

On a lighter note, you can't have missed this prank call:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgBCmBWfg8I

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by GTO

From the 2-wheeler sales thread, I see that Honda is firmly ensconced at the no. 2 position

Numbers wise they may be at the second slot but customer relationship wise they are IMO at the bottom of the heap. Ask any Honda 2 wheeler buyer and chances of a traumatic experience will be very high. Their dealers are too snobbish and many a time make the customers move to a different brand.

I seriously hope the new factory will help in clearing off the huge back log which every Honda 2 wheeler dealer claims to have irrespective of the colour or variant of the models.

[saket77]

While Honda is marching ahead in great rhythm and stands a good chance to dethrone Hero from the top slot, one thing I do not understand as a part of Honda's strategy is launch of 3 products in close pricing slots - The Dream Yuga, CD110 and the Neo. Though I have not peeked much into the details, but these bikes would be hardly different from each other mechanically. So basically, it is just branding (and some sticker job inherited from Hero ).

Honda is certainly targeting the rural segment aggressively (given those 3 models) - just like how Hero Honda did before the split but with just the Splendor. Passion was more of an urban commuter's choice. But how intelligent is dishing out 3 options in the same price segment is something that only time will tell. May be again Honda is taking the same step marks that Hero did with the Splendor and Passion.

Urban population must not be one of Honda's headache because the brand can be aspiration for most middle class urban commuters. An urban college boy dreams Honda to be his first motorcycle and stylish commuters also look upto Honda for their requirements. The regular CBR series satisfies the enthusiasts. And we cannot miss the Activa and Aviators as well. So, as of now, Honda has a better product portfolio compared to Hero. Understandably because it is a global seller.

One thing is for sure that Hero must come up with its own R&D soon, that too radical if it wants to contain Honda in India. A more fuller and diversified portfolio is what is needed. On the other hand, Honda must increase its penetration in form of service centers and sales outlets and voila, most of its problems are solved.

[supremeBaleno]

Given how almost every home in Kerala has an Activa, one could add all the KL households in the 2 crore. And this is something since this is inspite of :
- the shoddy sales experience - they know it sells well, so don't bother about customers.
- servicing being a pain - I see folks lined up at the ASS from 6AM onwards.

And from the 2-3 Activas I have used, the product actually does not really have any attribute that stands out (overall OK though) to deserve this response. The FE is nothing to write home about, the kick-starter on most don't work (our ScootyES' works like a charm even after 14 years) and getting the seat-top to lock into place needs special black-magic expertise.

[Zinda]

No doubt Honda is growing at a good pace, but their attitude is pathetic. I visited Honda Showroom when I was planning to buy a Scoot for my wife, and we (My 2 years old daughter in my lap, my Wife and I) were not even offered/asked to sit. I immediately stepped out and finally booked Suzuki Swish - both the Machine and Men are good are Suzuki.
A.S.S - My friend, after spending 2,800 at Honda Authorized Service, is yet to get rid of the rattling noise from front suspension in his Aviator. BTW, in last 3.5 years and 8500 kms of usage, he has spent almost 10,200.00 for scheduled services plus several issues in his scooter.

Both instances are from Lodha Honda, GST, MEPZ, Chennai.

[Sojogator]

India cannot wait for the 2 year special edition bikes with new colorful stickers and nothing else ! *Not*

[aargee]

Like to share my 2 cents...
- First (and probably the only one) CBR 250R that had engine seizure right on the third day of purchase
- HMSI & JSP Honda worked together to replace the entire engine unit rather than replacing the cylinder piston kit (under warranty)
- Till date, I've been getting preferential treatment from JSP Honda & other dealers (when demanded)
- And talking about Honda Activa, I've a 21000 Km run Activa (and my uncle's 1.56 Lakhs) & mine is nearly abused (with engine oil not changed for more than a year) & it still runs like charm & my uncle's Activa is personally taken care by EVM ASC

Verdict - I believe HMSI makes a good product in general, but its the dealers who screw up our vehicles. But that's the same case with my WagonR too. But the escalations works much better with MSIL rather than HMSI

[DevilzzzzOwn]

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[Snehal Sekhar]

Honda does definitely deserve these accolades IMO! I've had an Activa since 2003 and have had no issues with it all these years. Got bored with it and gifted it to my Father-In-law a few years ago. He still uses it. I purchased another Activa 2 years ago and have run in close to 15,000 kms till date. Apart from the quarterly service, there is no other maintenance that I do on the bike and in these 2 years that I have owned it, never once has it failed to start in the first click of the button nor has it given me any engine issues till date. Their customer service is also pretty good. Even after 2 years of purchase, I still get called to remind me of my service due date and after service feedback calls. Like Aargee said earlier, I think it is just some dealers that ruin the entire customer experience.

[SouraC]

I would like to add my view in favor of Honda. I am owning a Honda Unicorn from October 2004 and enjoying it till date.
Regarding Service issues I support some of the members but because of my prolonged ownership I have good relation with multiple service centers in my city.
As of now I have done approx. 90K km in mine and many a time I test its limits. I have changed its clutch, cylinder piston around 70K+ km. It runs smooth and I think Honda manufactures quality product.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by Poloprasad

Honda has a very good growth rate every year. When Hero & Honda had a JV, they were leading the two wheeler segment and players like Bajaj & Yamaha were following them on 2nd & 3rd position respectively. Now the separation of JV between two is getting tough for Bajaj with tight competition from Yamaha too. Bajaj needs a strong comeback.

Beg to differ on your observation.

During the Hero and Honda JV, Yamaha was never in contention.
The ranking was as below:
1) Hero Honda
2) Bajaj
3) TVS

Yamaha was languishing in the bottom quadrant as the FZs were in the process of launch and their product portfolio was drab with bikes like the Libero and Fazer 125s

[TusharK]

Honda 2-Wheelers' scooter sales have crossed the 2.5 crore mark and has become the only scooter manufacturer in India to achieve this milestone.



It took 13 years for Honda to reach the 1 crore sales mark. The next 1 crore sales were achieved in just 3 years, while the remaining 50 lakh units were sold within a year.

Honda launched the Activa 18 years ago, at a time when the scooter segment was on a decline. However, post its launch, the scooter segment grew from 10% in 2001 to 32% in 2018. Earlier this year, Activa sales crossed the 2 crore mark.

Today, Honda has a 57% market share in the scooter segment in India. The brand's current scooter portfolio includes the Activa 5G, Activa 125, Activa-i, Grazia, Dio, Aviator and the Cliq.

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