On 24 September 1948, Soichiro Honda established Honda Motor Co., Ltd. in Hamamatsu, Japan, with starting capital of ¥1 million. The company emerged from the Honda Technical Research Institute, founded two years earlier to produce auxiliary engines for bicycles. Its A-Type engine helped establish Honda’s early reputation for practical, affordable motorised mobility.
In 1949, Honda introduced the Dream D-Type, its first complete motorcycle designed and engineered in-house. A decade later came the Super Cub C100, whose easy operation, fuel efficiency and accessible design helped transform everyday two-wheeled transport. Honda’s partnership between engineer Soichiro Honda and businessman Takeo Fujisawa proved crucial to the company’s expansion.
The Super Cub eventually became a worldwide phenomenon, reaching cumulative production of 100 million units and demonstrating Honda’s ambition to make mobility practical across markets and cultures.
