Honda celebrates hitting 400 million motorcycle and scooter sales
Honda has recently hit the incredible milestone of selling 400 million motorcycles globally in 70 years, with half of those built since 2008.
Honda is by far and away the world’s biggest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, and after being founded in 1948 it grew steadily. Recent expansion of manufacturing plants across the world has seen production accelerate dramatically across the developing economies of the Far East and South America, catering for the massive demand for small machines in these countries.
The first motorcycle to leave the Honda factory in Japan was the first Dream D-Type which rolled out of the factory in 1949. Motorcycle mass production at its first factory outside of Japan kicked off in Belgium in 1963. Since then, Honda has expanded global production with 35 production facilities in 25 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Takahiro Hachigo, Honda’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “For 70 years Honda has provided to customers worldwide motorcycles that make life easier and enjoyable. As a result, we have achieved our 400 millionth unit milestone. I am grateful to all of our customers, and everyone involved in development, manufacturing, sales and service of our products. We will continue to do our best to provide attractive products that meet the needs and dreams of customers worldwide.”
KEY HONDA MILESTONES
- 1948 Honda Motor Co., Ltd founded
- 1949 The Dream D-Type went on sale
- 1958 The iconic Super Cub and Super Cub C100 join the Honda range
- 1959 Honda becomes world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer
- 1969 The CB750 goes on sale
- 1975 The GL1000 GoldWing goes on sale
- 1986 The XRV650 Africa Twin joins the range
- 1992 The CBR900RR FireBlade goes on sale
- 2001 The SH125i goes on sale
- 2009 The VFR1200F is unveiled at the Tokyo motorshow – the world’s first dual clutch motorcycle
- 2014 The Honda Super Cub becomes the most produced motorcycle in history, with 87 million units sold in 160 countries
- Marc Marquez becomes the youngest ever premier class world champion at 21 years of age
- 2015 The Gold Wing celebrates its 40th anniversary
- 2017 Fireblade celebrates its 25th anniversary
- 2019 CB750 celebrates its 50th anniversary
- 100,000 DCT equipped motorcycles sold in Europe since its introduction in 2010
- Honda celebrate winning 25th premier class constructors championship
- Marc Marquez wins eighth world title
Honda’s Global Motorcycle production
- 1963 Belgium
- 1967 Thailand
- 1971 Indonesia
- 1976 Brazil and Italy
- 1979 North America
- 1980 Nigeria
- 1992 China
- 1997 Vietnam
- 2001 India
- 2013 Bangladesh
Honda’s Motorcycle Production Milestones
- 1968 Honda reaches 10 million unit milestone
- 1984 Honda reaches 50 million unit milestone
- 1997 Honda reaches 100 million unit milestone
- 2004 Honda exceed 10 million unit annual motorcycle production
- 2008 Honda reaches 200 million unit milestone
- 2014 Honda reaches 300 million unit milestone
- 2018 Honda exceeds 20 million unit annual motorcycle production
2019 Honda reaches 400 million unit milestone
