Thailand's subsidiary of Honda Motor Co. on Monday began a new production line for midsize motorcycles at its factory in Bangkok.
Thai Honda Manufacturing Co. President Shunichi Eguchi said the new CBR500 motorcycle production is a "challenge" for Honda in Thailand, where only small motorcycles have been produced since 1967.
Most of the new Thai-made motorcycles will be exported to worldwide destinations, including Japan, the United States and Europe, according to Eguchi.
Honda has manufactured more than 21.69 million motorcycles with engines between 100cc and 250cc from the Thai plant since 1967. Among them, nearly 1 million have been exported to 57 countries since 1988.
Currently, the Thai Honda plant has the capacity to produce 1.65 million units a year.