Regulations are Forcing Honda’s Hand
Some people say the new emissions regulations for many areas around the world are moving too quickly. Others say they’re not moving quickly enough. No matter where you stand on this issue, you should be able to agree it’s making some interesting business bedfellows. It now seems that Honda India may have to start looking for partnerships to move to a more electrified lineup due to the switch to the latest emissions regulations.
According to the Times of India, Honda is open to working with competitors to help build the bikes of the future. This would include companies like Hero Moto, Bajaj, and TVS. Those companies might not be well-known in the U.S., but they’re big names in India and if Honda teams up with them, it could mean the technology that comes out of that partnership will make it beyond the Indian market.
Honda has already started working with Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha in Japan, but now it seems the Indian portion of the company will begin collaborating with other large Indian companies. While this kind of shake-up might not be ideal for any of the one companies out there, it will create some innovative, new products. From a consumer standpoint that’s not a bad thing.
It’ll be interesting to see how this develops in the coming months and years. I expect we’ll see a lot more sharing of electrified technology and some common equipment across manufacturers to help the industry as a whole instead of just one company.