Published on 02/08/2012
Honda moves big bikes here Honda plans to shift production of some big bike models to Thailand to deal with the strong yen and high labour costs in Japan. Thai Honda Manufacturing Co has moved the lines for multipurpose engines at Bangkok's Lat Krabang plant to an adjacent area to pave the way for production of global motorcycle and big bike models. The new plant opened on Monday to make 2.7 million engines a year for use as generators, pumps, marine motors and farm tools. Apart from engines, Thai Honda makes 1.5 million motorcycles a year. Some 800 big bikes a day will be built after the lines for engine production have been moved. Suchart Arunsaengroj, the sales director at AP Honda, the country's biggest motorcycle distributor, said Honda plans to make big bikes with engine sizes exceeding 400cc in Thailand by year-end. In April, AP Honda opened its Honda Big Wing showroom and service centre in Bangkok to sell imported big bikes with engines ranging from 600-1,500cc. More than 50 big bikes have been sold, said Mr Suchart. In the overall market, 2,521 imported big bikes with engine sizes above 400cc were sold in Thailand in the first half, nearly double last year's first-half sales. Big bike sales totalled 2,538 units in 2011, with Kawasaki leading the market. Mr Suchart said Thailand's overall motorcycle sales volume hit a record 1.09 million units in the first half, up by 2% year-on-year. Honda topped the chart with a record 756,562 units sold, good for a 69% market share. AP Honda expects this year's motorcycle market to reach 2.15 million units sold, with Honda accounting for 1.5 million.