Two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India today said its order backlog has touched 1.4 lakh units due to a go-slow by workers but expects to start clearing it with a third assembly line at its Manesar plant becoming operational.
?Early this morning, we started operating the new assembly line, which is the third one in our plant. To begin with, the third line would have a daily production of 300-400 units and we hope to take it to 1,000 units daily after some weeks,? Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India President and CEO Shinji Aoyama told reporters here.
HMSI has stopped taking orders for some of its models with the back-order touching 1.4 lakh units after a majority of the 5,500 workers at the company?s plant resorted to go-slow tactics since August leading to a production loss of over Rs 300 crore for about 75,000 units of two-wheelers.
The plant has a daily production capacity of about 4,400 units and the company is currently utilising half of it.
?We hope to reach full normalcy in production within next 2-3 days… but the current backlog is about 1.4 lakh units with a waiting time of a little over a month,? Aayoma said.
Despite the impact of workers? strike, Aoyama said the company would meet its sales target of 12.5 lakh units, up from 10.7 lakh units last year.
HMSI today launched an advanced version of its scooter Aviator priced at Rs 42,160-Rs 47,160 (ex-showroom, Delhi). It is looking to sell 1.1 lakh units of the new scooter in this fiscal.
?With the launch of new Aviator, we are looking to expand our presence in the market and offer customers more choice,? HMSI Operating Head (Sales & Marketing) N K Rattan said.
The company had earlier announced that it is aiming to grow by around 17 per cent this fiscal and achieve a sales figure of 12.5 lakh units, up from 10.7 lakh units last year.
?I am confident of achieving the target,? Aayoma said, adding that its 100 cc bike with a carborated engine would be showcased during the January 2010 Delhi Auto Show.
The company, however, clarified that the go-slow by workers has not yet been formally withdrawn.
?The go-slow is not exactly over. However, progress has been made and now we can move towards restoring normalcy,? Rattan said.
After the 2005 violent strike at HMSI?s Gurgaon plant, the management and workers union had signed a long-term agreement in 2006, which expired this July. The two parties are re-negotiating the terms and conditions to cover issues such as higher wages and better facilities.
While the workers union had denied they were on strike, the management had blamed them for disrupting work.
HMSI has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking to direct the workers? union not to disrupt production and prosecute those who have violated the law. The court will take up the matter again for hearing on October 28.