Honda Motor Plans to Import Motorcycles from Thailand

Since the production costs for the bikes made in Japan are rising, Honda Motor has plans of importing Thailand-made motorcycles. As part of its cost reduction plans, the Japanese manufacturer could start the shipping of 250cc engine bikes from Thailand from next year, a Nikkei business daily report quoted by Reuters said.

The bikes produced in Thailand are three times as many as in Japan, so the imported 250cc motorbikes will be priced cheaper than the Japan-made ones.

Honda is currently producing only 100cc models in its Thailand center and is seriously planning to expand the range. The imported 250cc bikes will be sold for 400,000 yen ($4,220), considerably less than the 550,000 yen price for the ones made in Japan. Therefore, it means that the bikes are made more efficiently and cheaply.

Moreover, also part of the cost reduction plan, Honda of America closed its Marysville Motorcycle Plant in Ohio, moving all of its activity in Japan. At its closing moment, the only model that Honda was producing in its Ohio-based plant was the Gold Wing.

The closing came after the Japanese company tried to cut costs as both auto and motorcycle sales dropped significantly. As part of these efforts, the manufacturer even left competitive sports such as the Formula One racing series.

Sustaining its two-car race team of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello cost Honda an estimated $217 million in 2008. The company’s withdrawal was seen as a dramatic example of the financial impact the economic downturn is having in sports.