- Automated the ADV160 final assembly process at Manesar
- Honda is trying to begin initial customer deliveries before end-2026
Honda ADV160 production is being accelerated at the company’s Manesar manufacturing facility as HMSI tries to shorten the waiting period for this new flex-fuel scooter. We’ve seen how the ADV160 has attracted enough early interest for delivery estimates at the retail end to stretch into January 2027. Honda is now working towards getting at least the first customer scooters out before the end of 2026.
We recently visited HMSI’s Manesar plant where Honda showed us the production preparations made specifically to increase the pace of ADV160 assembly. A complete line involved in the scooter’s final assembly process has been automated further reducing manual intervention in several stages and allowing Honda to push vehicles through the line more consistently.
This is significant because the ADV160 has already slipped behind Honda’s original retail schedule. When prices were announced on 25 August 2026, HMSI said bookings had opened at Rs 5,000 and that deliveries of the ADV160 and Rebel 300 would commence from mid-October.
That deadline has effectively passed. Retail delivery estimates are being communicated to prospective customers stretch into January 2027. Based on what we learnt during the factory visit, the company is targeting initial customer handovers towards the end of 2026 if the production ramp-up goes according to plan. This is not what Honda has announced, but with the ramped up processes at their plant, looks like they’re working really hard to close the gap.
Honda has good reason to push this process harder. ADV160 is one of the more unusual products in the company’s new India portfolio and represents its first flex-fuel scooter for the country. Honda says this is India’s first scooter capable of running on fuel blends containing up to E85 using the company’s FlexTech system.
