Honda has expanded yet another Asian motorcycle manufacturing presence, with the opening of a new facility in Bangladesh on 11 November.
This factory, in the Abdul Monem Economic Zone on the outskirts of Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, replaces a smaller assembly plant at nearby Gazipur. Occupying about one third of a 25-acre site with an initial capacity of 100,000 units per year, it was built by the brand’s local joint-venture bike business Bangladesh Honda Private Ltd, a partnership with Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation. Honda has a 70% majority share in the operation.
The first phase of a much larger development, a key aspect is enhancing localisation of component manufacture, besides assembly. The new factory features steel fabrication, welding and paint sections, with technical support from Honda Motor in Japan, so it can produce frames and swing arms, prior to gradually expanding to encompass a range of other parts. Capacity should reach 200,000 units by 2021 as the building programme progresses.
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