Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) will focus on exports with its new range of BS-VI vehicles which are equivalent to the Euro-V emission norms of advanced markets.

At present, the company exports only three per cent of its total volume to a few countries such as Sri Lanka and Nepal. Talking to reporters, Atsushi Ogata, the new managing director, president and CEO of HMSI, said: “I have watched India transition from BS-IV to BS-VI, while working in Thailand. I have seen how HMSI has started to dispatch its BS-VI models. We now have the quality and capacity to deliver anywhere in the world. We can export completely built and completely knocked-down models. The percentage of exports will definitely see a substantial increase within three years.”

Ogata takes charge of HMSI in the midst of the pandemic. The new CEO remains optimistic about the two-wheeler market’s revival.

“We are witnessing a recovery in the high-speed market. The demand for motorcycles and scooters is beyond expectation. Customers are trying to get personal mobility to avoid mass transit. We see demand going back to normal sooner than later,” said the new CEO.

On his thoughts about the Indian market viz-a-viz the other markets that he has worked in, the president said: “India is a big market in terms of size and volume. It gives Honda an opportunity to grow. In markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam, Honda has a huge market share of 70-80 per cent. There are only Japanese makers there, no local or Chinese makers. In China, the major makers are from Japan who has to compete with copycat makers. In India, Honda has a marketshare of less than 30 per cent.”