Tianjin, China, June 14, 2002 - Sundiro Honda Motorcycle Co., Ltd. today announced the start of production of its new motorcycle, Wave, at its Tianjin plant.

Sundiro Honda, a 50-50 joint venture between Honda and two Chinese partner firms, said that Wave will go on sale on July 1 in China, with an annual sales target of 100,000 units.

Wave is a new, 100cc Cub-type motorcycle equipped with an air-cooled 4-stroke engine with good fuel economy and excellent durability and quietness. Wave's affordable price of 4,498 yuan (about US$540) has been made possible thanks in part to the adoption of low-cost locally procured parts, drawing on the company's production infrastructure in China.

Last year, China's total motorcycle market stood at about 10 million vehicles. In 2002, restrictions on the issuance of license plates in urban areas has generally resulted in a contraction of urban markets, but the overall market has continued to expand in rural areas, where motorcycles are used extensively as a means of transportation in daily life.

Because of this trend, there is large potential demand for Cub-type motorcycles, which are useful transportation that can be shared by family members, at a relatively low price. These factors led to the decision to release Wave in the Chinese market.

With the launch of Wave, the second Honda brand motorcycle following M-Living, (Chinese name: 万里行), which was launched in November 2001, Sundiro Honda now aims to further expand its product lineup, and to expand customer satisfaction in China by responding flexibly to changes in the market environment.

<Main specifications of the Wave (Chinese name: 威武)>

Overall length (mm) / Overall width (mm) / Overall height (mm): 1870/715/1050
Engine Type: Air-cooled 4-stroke OHC
Total displacement (cc): 97.1cc