Honda to Open First EV Two-Wheeler Plant in Karnataka

Japan’s Honda Motor Co. Indian arm, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), will set up its first exclusive electric two-wheeler manufacturing plant in Narasapura, Kolar district, Karnataka. The information was provided after a meeting between HMSI top executives and a high-level Karnataka delegation led by Industries Minister M. B. Patil during his visit to Japan.

This will be a project with a total investment of about ₹600 crore, going next to the Narasapura plant, which is the company’s largest factory in India with an annual capacity of over 2.4 million units, as per the statement released by the company. The scooters produced by this unit will be sold in domestic and foreign countries, thus, the production of EV will go up substantially in the country.

As per the first statement, HMSI is dealing with two EV models the Activa e, with a battery changeable system that is also supported by the charging stations in Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai, and the QC1, which uses a fixed battery and has a range of 80 km per charge.

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The assembly of both models takes place at Narasapura, however, the new plant will be used for capacity expansion and will be an integration hub for EVs in the Honda mainstream operations. Minister Patil said that such an investment will lead to the creation of a large number of jobs in the automotive sector in Karnataka.

The visit was a part of the Japanese companies; program of Karnataka to meet with Mitsubishi Electric, Yokogawa Electric, Tokyo Electron and Restar Holdings to explore areas of deepening collaboration in semiconductor, electronics, and advanced manufacturing besides seeking investment opportunities in the state.