2026 Honda Ridgeline pickup truck.
Courtesy HondaHonda,
Honda Motor on Thursday confirmed a next-generation mannequin of its Ridgeline pickup truck might be produced within the U.S. following a short lived manufacturing stoppage later this yr.
The way forward for the midsize pickup truck has been in flux amid stories that there could possibly be a manufacturing pause coming as a result of car not assembly California emissions rules.
The Japanese automaker on Thursday stated there might be a short lived manufacturing stoppage for the pickup truck later this yr on the Alabama plant that produces the car, with meeting returning to the power inside two years, doubtless in 2028.
“The objective is to proceed to serve these prospects who’ve been loyal to the Ridgeline,” Lance Woelfer, vice chairman of auto gross sales at American Honda Motor, advised CNBC. “However one of many issues that we need to deliver ahead sooner or later is elevated ruggedness of that car, much more functionality.”
Woelfer declined to touch upon whether or not the extra rugged functionality will embrace the car shifting from a car-based manufacturing course of to a extra conventional truck meeting, generally known as “body-on-frame,” which is how most vehicles are constructed within the U.S.
Honda on July 23, 2026, launched a teaser picture of its next-generation Ridgeline pickup truck for the U.S. market.
COurtesy Honda
“That is been an essential a part of its historical past. Whether or not or not it is a part of its future, I will not get into that,” Woelfer stated. “It is a step ahead for the Ridgeline that I feel everyone will admire.”
Increasing the potential of the Ridgeline, which is extra identified for easy driving than ruggedness, may help in increasing the car’s patrons.
Gross sales of the Ridgeline had been down about 3% through the first half of the yr. The corporate has offered between roughly 41,000 and 52,000 Ridgelines yearly since 2021. That compares with greater than 270,000 items offered of the segment-leading Toyota Tacoma in 2025.
Honda’s affirmation of the brand new pickup comes as its CR-V compact crossover led U.S. auto gross sales by the primary half of the yr for the primary time ever.
CR-V gross sales elevated roughly 6% in contrast with final yr because the Ford F-Collection pickups and Toyota Rav4 crossover, which have led gross sales in recent times, handled manufacturing bottlenecks.
