Honda 2Wheeler India Appoints Tsutsumu Otani as President, MD & CEO
Tsutsumu Otani has been named President, CEO, and Managing Director of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) with immediate effect. In order to strategically steer the brand towards market leadership, it has also rejigged its senior management team.
By Reetika Bhatt
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), a division of Japan's Honda Motor Co., has announced changes in management and leadership. Tsutsumu Otani, VP at Honda Motor Co., Japan, will take over as President, CEO, and MD of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India. He succeeds Atsushi Ogata, who led Honda's Indian two-wheeler operations for three years and will now return to Shanghai, China, as the Executive General Manager at the Shanghai Branch of Honda Motor (China) Investment Co., effective from April 2023. Otani, who was born in 1968, began working for Honda Japan in 1997. He worked for Honda Italy Industriale S.P.A. for five years, starting in 2005. He was in charge of South America from the Japan headquarters in 2010 and then moved to Honda Motor Argentina in 2011. And later, he moved to Honda South America Ltd. in 2013.
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He returned to Japan in 2015 to take over the management of the motorcycle business division, and in 2016 Otani shifted to the division's sales planning section. He was appointed President of Sundiro Honda Motorcycle Co Ltd from 2017 to 2022. Otani was also appointed executive general manager of Honda Motor (China) Investment Co Ltd.'s Shanghai branch last year.
Over the course of his 26-year association with Honda, he has managed multiple regions and assumed a variety of roles. Tsutsumu Otani previously served as the Executive General Manager of the Shanghai Branch of Honda Motor (China) Investment before taking over the new India operations. He has collaborated with Honda in countries like South America, China, Japan, and Europe.
Other Significant Changes in the Top Management
In order to strategically steer the brand towards market leadership in the future, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), which is entering its 23rd year of operations in India, has also updated its senior management team. The company has appointed Vinay Dhingra as Senior Director of Human Resources & Administration, Corporate Affairs, Information Technology, and Honda India Foundation. Previously, Dhingra served as Director of General & Corporate Affairs, Strategic Information System, and Honda India Foundation.
Sanjeev Jain and Yogesh Mathur, who were previously operating officers of sales and marketing and new model purchase and parts strategy, have also been promoted to the board of directors of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India. As the new Director, Mathur will be in charge of customer service, logistics planning and control, premium motorcycle sales, and marketing. However, Jain, the new Director, will be in charge of the Purchase division. He succeeds V. Sridhar, a Senior Director of Purchase, who retired from the company after more than 23 years of service to HMSI.
2023 Honda Activa 125 Launched in India
In a recent development, the manufacturer launched the 2023 Activa 125 in India, which meets real driving emission (RDE) norms. The 2023 Honda Activa is priced between Rs 78,920 and Rs 88,093 (ex-showroom, New Delhi). The scooter has undergone minor revisions for 2023, including a change in the available colour schemes. For the previous generation model, there were six colour options. Honda now offers the Activa 125 in five colours: Pearl Precious White with Salen Silver Metallic, Rebel Red Metallic, Heavy Gray Metallic (not available in the Drum version), Pearl Night Star Black, and Mid Night Blue Metallic.
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The new Honda Activa 125 is powered by a 125cc PGM-FI engine, which meets OBD2 standards and is equipped with Enhanced Smart Power (eSP). It produces 8.1bhp at 6,500rpm and 10.3Nm of torque at 5,000rpm. The eSP tech includes a unique Honda ACG Starter, Swing Back feature, Start Solenoid, Idling Stop System, and Tumble Flow. The suspension is controlled by telescopic forks up front and a 3-step adjustable unit at the rear. The new model, according to the company, has the highest ground clearance in its class. The tubeless frictionless tyres are standard on the 2023 model.
