Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced that its cumulative worldwide motorcycle production reached 150 million units at the end of April 2005 - the 57th year of production. Mass production of motorcycles began in 1949 with the "Dream Type D" model.

Honda began overseas production of motorcycles in Belgium in 1963, and has since begun local production in countries around the world based on Honda's philosophy of "producing products close to the customer." The motorcycle business is where Honda started out as a company and it has served to pioneer the way for Honda's automobile operations in markets around the globe. Honda now builds motorcycles at 28 locations in 21 countries around the world. In addition, Honda has established R&D centers in the U.S., Germany, Italy, Thailand, China, and India, in order to develop motorcycles that meet local needs.

In 2004, Honda's annual worldwide motorcycle sales exceeded the 10 million-unit mark for the first time, totaling 10.8 million units. In working toward a sales goal of 12.5 million units for 2005, a 16% increase from last year, Honda will continue striving to provide products that meet the increasingly diverse needs of its customers.