The Hindu Business Line : HMSIL to roll out first motorcycle in October

TWO-WHEELER company Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India Ltd (HMSIL) has set itself a target of selling five lakh two-wheelers in the country next year and has embarked on a major top-level corporate restructuring and brand building exercise towards this end.

Top sources told Business Line the company is betting on its foray into the high-growth motorcycles business in India to fuel growth and said plans have now been firmed up to roll out its first motorcycle in October.

HMSIL has kicked off its strategy to straddle the domestic two-wheeler market by creating a new post of Managing Director and COO in its corporate structure, with the sole responsibility of driving the group's two-wheeler business in India. The group's current head honcho is President and CEO, Mr Haruo Takiguchi, who is in charge of its entire operations in India including passenger cars.

The new Managing Director and COO, Mr Yukihiro Awashima, is expected to formally join the company on April 2. The earlier structure consisted of a Director each in charge of Service, Works, and Marketing reporting to the President and CEO and the new man at the helm is expected to add considerable punch to company's ambitions to occupy the top slot in the business.

Attempts to contact Mr Takiguchi was met with a response from a company spokesperson who conveyed the former's message that he is not the right person to talk about the group's two-wheeler business. "Mr Awashima is the person to talk to and he is in Japan at present," the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, with seven months to go before they get into the great Indian motorcycle war, the company is undertaking a massive brand building exercise intended to make the trademark Honda Wings (its logo), a familiar sight for Indian consumers. Sources said that a special team has been formed to take up a high-voltage brand building exercise, after market research indicated that consumers are not aware of Honda brand logo. The company's associates have also been instructed to take up the brand building exercise individually.

"The company is very clear that the motorcycle business is not going to be a cake walk and has clear instructions to dealers and other associates that there is a lot of goodwill to be created and hard work to be done before September when they plan to commence trial production," sources said.

Meanwhile, the company is also significantly beefing up its dealership network, which will go up from the current level of 170 to reach 275 by September 2004. The company currently has three scooters, Honda Activa, Dio and Eterno (geared) in its portfolio but expects growth to shoot up exponentially when it launches its motorcycles.

While the company is holding its cards closely, the market buzz is that the motorcycle launch will begin with a 125cc and 150cc offerings.

More Stories on : Announcements | Two/Three Wheelers

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page