While there’s plenty of news about Indian manufacturers expanding their operations around the world, the Japanese are still actively expanding their operations as well – or at least, in markets where it makes sense.
This week, Honda announced they’re opening a motorcycle manufacturing plant in Vietnam. It’s actually their third in the country; it’ll be situated about 40 km south of Hanoi.
For now, we’re guessing Honda only plans to manufacture bikes for the Vietnamese market at this facility. However, with three plants in the country now, we’ve got to wonder – will they start cranking out bikes for other markets someday? Many manufacturers from both Europe and Japan are already outsourcing bike production to Thailand or other southeast Asian countries. Could Vietnam be next?
In any case – the deal makes sense for the southeast Asian market, at least. There’s lots of money to be made selling two-wheelers in that part of the world, and muscling up in the market there will surely pay off in the long run.
