Tokyo, January 23, 2002 --- Honda R&D Co., Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Co.,Ltd.) announced today that it intends to establish a new overseas subsidiary, HONDA MOTORCYCLE R&D CHINA CO., LTD., in Shanghai next month to carry out research and development work in China.

Construction work on the new facility will begin as soon as the company has been established. The new company is scheduled to start operations in April 2003.

The Chinese motorcycle market, the largest in the world, stands at over 10 million units per year and is expected to continue expanding rapidly. Under these circumstances, Honda is concentrating efforts on expanding its motorcycle business through three joint ventures in China; Sundiro Honda Motorcycle Co., Ltd.,

Jialing-Honda Motor Co., Ltd., and Wuyang-Honda Motor (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd. The new motorcycle R&D operation will further strengthen Honda's development capability to cope with the diversified needs of the Chinese market. With local ventures handling all required operations from research and development to production, Honda aims to offer products that provide customer satisfaction and thereby expand its motorcycle sales.

Outline of HONDA MOTORCYCLE R&D CHINA CO., LTD.