Honda Becomes First Brand To Cross 500 Million Production Milestone

Honda’s cumulative global production has reached the 500 million milestone. And the 500 millionth unit to roll out of was none other than India’s most popular scooter, the Activa. This record feat was achieved at Honda’s Vitthalapur manufacturing plant in Gujarat. To put that into perspective, there are only two nations in the world, India and China, which have a population of over 500 million!

It took Honda 76 years to reach this milestone after the company began mass production of motorcycles in 1949 with the Dream D-Type. It was not until in 1963, that Honda’s first overseas mass-production facility for two-wheelers was established in Belgium. Coupled with a few more manufacturing plants across the globe, Honda hit its first 100 millionth unit production milestone in 1997. Its 200 millionth milestone came up in 2008, while the 300 millionth production milestone was reached in 2014. The 400 millionth production was reached in just five years in 2019, just before COVID-19 struck the entire world. 

But coming back to the Activa, it in itself has several feathers to its cap. For example, last year in September, the Activa crossed the 10 millionth sales milestone in South India. Later, Honda reported that it has sold more than 40 lakh Activa scooters in Gujarat after 24 years of operation in the state. So, the Honda Activa in itself is no stranger to record milestone figures and the latest achievement just goes on to show how important the scooter is to the brand. However, the most popular product from the Japanese brand remains the Honda Super Cub as the moped crossed the 100 million sales landmark in 2017, making it the highest-selling two-wheeler in history. 

(Also Read: 2025 Honda Activa Launched In India At ₹80,950)

Currently, Honda has an annual production capacity of more than 20 million units across 23 countries and regions, with 37 production entities. Coupled with over 30,000 dealerships across the world, Honda will continue to further solidify its motorcycle business with new attractive products, the press release stated. Moving forward, the Japanese company will be focusing on electric mobility. Wherein, the Activa e: and the QC1 will carry the baton in Indian and ASEAN countries, while the CUV e: and Icon e: will be entrusted to drive sales in Japanese and European countries. 

“For Honda, the motorcycle business is our founder’s business, and will continue to be the company’s core business. In the motorcycle business, we have built the trust of our customers through our many products and services, which has enabled us to achieve a cumulative production volume of 500 million units,” noted Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer, Honda Motor Co., Ltd.