With industry-wide sales of two-wheelers, both gas and electric, predicted to reach 60 million units annually by 2030, Honda Motor Company is vying for half of the global motorcycle market.
During a briefing on Tuesday, the Japanese company Honda predicted that its global motorcycle sales would reach 20.2 million for the fiscal year ending in March, giving it a roughly 40% market share.
With electric bikes included, Honda aspires to eventually capture 50% of the market. The Global South, which Honda refers to as mainly India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, as well as Brazil and other South and Central American nations, will be a major source of growth. A timeline for that goal was not provided.
In the 12 months ending March 31, 2024, Honda's two-wheeler division generated an operating profit of about $3.6 billion, an increase of nearly 14% over the previous five years. While stricter emissions regulations in China, the US, and Europe are challenging the rapid growth in demand for e-bikes, rising living costs run the risk of making even motorbikes unaffordable for some of the world's poorest families.
According to Honda, the company currently produces over 20 million units a year at 37 facilities spread across 23 countries and territories. As Honda develops plans to integrate the financially troubled Nissan Motor Company into its operations, the already lucrative division is expected to become even more significant.
The executive officer in charge of Honda's motorcycle division, Minoru Kato, stated that he does not think the Nissan deal will have an impact on the two-wheeler market. "However, as the negotiations continue, it's imperative that we identify the appropriate synergies," he stated.
Given that it produces about 9,000 units a year at a factory in Mexico, the majority of which are imported into the US, Honda may also encounter problems with tariffs. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose high tariffs on goods that are coming into the country from Mexico.
"There will undoubtedly be an impact," Kato stated on Tuesday. "Although no decisions have been made, we are thinking about moving as a potential option."
Honda intends to launch 30 e-models worldwide by 2030 as part of its electrification drive in order to reach its goal of 4 million units sold annually.
Other projects include reducing the price of e-bikes, improving battery reuse and recycling, and installing solar power systems in its own factories to make them more ecologically friendly.
To avoid lengthy lines at charging stations, Honda has begun to provide a battery sharing and swapping service in India, where it has stated that it hopes to gain the biggest market share for electric motorcycles.
By 2028, Honda also intends to have an electric motorcycle plant operational in India.
However, India has a number of powerful companies of its own, such as Hero MotoCorp Ltd., the market leader, and Bajaj Auto Ltd.
