Honda Building Its Third Motorcycle Production Plant in Vietnam

Japanese motorcycle manufacturer Honda opened its first manufacturing site in Vietnam back in late 1997, followed by a second venue in mid-2008, both with an annual production capacity of 1 million units. But the company decided it wanted more and announced it is building a third plant in the country and expand its total annual production capacity by 500,000 units.

The decision was made in order to accommodate consistent and rapidly growing demand of the motorcycle market in Vietnam.

With an expected total investment of US$120 million, the third plant is scheduled to become operational in the second half of 2012, in Ha Nam Province, approximately 40 kilometers south of Hanoi.

The motorcycle market in Vietnam has been staidly growing and the market size reached 2.69 million in 2010, an approximately 20% increase compared to 2009, making it the world’s fourth largest motorcycle market behind only China, India and Indonesia.

“Motorcycles have been an integral part of people’s daily lives in Vietnam, and further expansion of the market is forecasted as the economy continues to grow. Based on this forecast, HVN determined to build the third plant in order to further strengthen its capability to continue providing products to Vietnamese customers in a timely manner,” a company statement reads.

Since the start of production in 1997, HVN’s cumulative motorcycle production has reached 9.6 million units and sales has experienced a year-on-year increase for 14 consecutive years. Moreover, HVN’s market share in Vietnam reached 64% in 2010. HVN will continue enhancing its product lineup to fulfill the increasingly diversifying customer needs in Vietnam.