Honda Motorcycles to widen its R&D in India

Soon after Honda Motorcycles ended its 30 years long tie-up with Hero MotoCorp, the company is now planning to make an entry into the topmost sector of the two-wheeler market of the country. The final process of ending the collaboration between the two market giants is under progress after which both the companies will further plan their individual strategies to strengthen their hold in the Indian market. In this attempt, Hero MotorCorp is expanding its R&D operations by entering into technological JVs with EBR and AVI. On the other hand, Hero Honda  Motorcycles is strengthning its minor R&D in India. The base has been named as the Honda R&D India Private Limited (HRID).

It is currently located at the rented IFFCO chowk in Gurgaon and the company is planning to shift it to the HMSI Manesar plant. The company is also constructing a new building to provide housing to the R&D engineers. Work is expected to begin at this building in a few months time. It has been reported that Honda is planning to invest a sum of whopping Rs. 700 crore to build this R&D base in the country. The company is also planning to recruit twice the number of R&D engineers than it currently has.

The newly recruited engineers will be technically expert in minor model modifications, styling and design, prototype generation, testing, validation and component building with vendors to provide products at a quicker rate and lesser cost. Seeing the efforts of the company and the number of determined steps it is taking keeping the Indian market and the Indian buyer in mind, it would not be a surprise if more and more Honda bikes are seen in the market in the times to come.