Honda's ute plans for Australia revealed | The Inverell Times - EDC TIPS

Honda’s ute plans for Australia revealed

Honda Australia is aware of the ongoing demand for its Rigeline ute, which is currently only built in left-hand drive for markets like the USA.

With a new-generation version confirmed to be the works, the CEO of Honda Australia, Jay Joseph, told CarsGuide how the local division was putting its hand up for right-hand drive development early in the process in order to increase its chances of an Australian debut.

“There hasn’t been a dealer visit yet anywhere where that didn’t come up,” he said.

“The best time to think about homologating a vehicle for right-hand drive is at the inception of design,” he explained.

“It’s something we’re looking at and we’re in conversations about. Where that will lead, I can’t say for now. It takes time, and we’ve got to do the math and it has to make sense.”

2026 Honda Ridgeline Trailsport

Australia can’t be the only export market for Ridgeline

Joseph, who spent much of his career working on Honda’s North American business and spent significant time in Japan understanding the company’s global footprint, was also upfront about the challenges facing the sought-after Ridgeline badge for our market.

“There has to be sufficient volume, so it can’t be dependent on Australia alone. There would have to be enough right-hand drive markets raising their hands with similar development needs.

“The key factor in that is when we look across all of the certification items, is there enough compatibility that we’re not doubling down on development? If we can keep that pretty simple, then it has a chance.”

The Ridgeline, which has existed since 2005 and is currently in its second-generation, doesn’t ride on a ladder frame like rival dual-cabs. Instead, it sits on a large vehicle monocoque platform, which also underpins other US-developed left-hand drive vehicles, including the Pilot and Passport.

“These vehicles have a much more capable rear differential [and] some really cool features which we haven’t brought to market yet, using forward radar for some really interesting things when off-roading,” Joseph said.

2026 Honda Passport Trailsport

He said Honda had been holding these more rugged models from our market for some time.

Honda won’t ‘take shortcuts’ on ute plans

“Moving a steering wheel from one side to another in a unibody construction vehicle is a heavy undertaking, and as a company, we just don’t take shortcuts on things like that,” he added.

“The best time to plant a tree is 40 years ago; the second best time is today, and we didn’t plant that tree on those vehicles 40 years ago so we need to start thinking about it now.”

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The recently confirmed third-generation Ridgeline is promised to gain even more rugged design and capabilities, although the brand said earlier this year that it would continue to be built exclusively at the company’s Alabama factory.

Joseph pointed to the Honda MDX large SUV, which was briefly sold in Australia between 2003 and 2006 as proof that the brand could source cars from the USA if needed.

Re-badged Triton could also be a shoo-in for Australia

The elephant in the room for Honda’s ute aspirations is a hot-off-the-press memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi on use of its Triton ladder frame as Honda looks to expand into South East Asian markets with a more robust commercial offering.

The team-up between Japanese stalwarts is understood to produce a Honda-badged version of the Mitsubishi ute.

Joseph said this was a “could-be” solution for Australia in the short term.

Third-generation Honda Ridgeline teaser

“Exactly what form that takes, we’ll see. It’s too early for us to confirm anything, but there’s a possibility there,” he said of a re-badged Triton. “I suppose its more of a statement of intent that it’s the vehicle missing from the portfolio in this region particularly.”

Honda ute would be a perfect lifestyle match for other Honda products

Interestingly, Joseph’s vision for a Honda-badged ute was a bit more holistic in matching up with the rest of Honda’s portfolio outside of a strictly automotive use-case, which he said could help set the brand apart from its rivals.

“My perspective is that would be very appealing when you look beyond automotive. We’ve got power sports, power equipment. Say somebody buys a Honda portable generator for their caravan, if they could tow that caravan with a Honda, have the generator in the tray, I like the way that packages together.

“Even somebody who buys a CRF250 or CRF450 for autocross or trail-riding, they should be able to put that in another Honda, so I’m very attracted to the idea of it. But, it still has to pencil up as a business and it’s too early to say if it does.”

On the Triton team-up, Joseph said the Honda ownership experience, which he said “improves as time goes on” for current owners, would be a key point of differentiation from both the Triton and Nissan‘s Navara, which also uses the same underpinnings.

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“If we did do something like that, one of the things that Honda does differently is a very different ownership experience.

“We, you know, having the price promise and fixed-price servicing, it’s very appealing to people because we have that brand trust, because we have that reputation for taking care of our customers and making sure we have parts available.

“It’s a completely different purchase experience and process, and I think different decision-making for the buyer. So, that would be one consideration we’d be looking at.”

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