Honda’s next Ridgeline truck to hit market within two years
Though it’s better known for its sturdy fleet of sedans and crossover SUVs, Honda announced this week that it also plans to keep on trucking.
In less than two years, Honda will put an all-new version of its midsize Ridgeline pickup truck on sale, the automaker said Tuesday. It will be the second generation of the U.S.-only truck that Honda originally put on sale in 2006.
“The next generation Ridgeline will build on Honda’s role in creating new value with a new take on advancing form and function in the truck segment,” Michael Accavitti, senior vice president at American Honda, said in a statement.
Though Honda didn’t announce details about the next Ridgeline, a look at the concept sketch it released showed a truck with a more conventional silhouette than the current model, which Honda will stop building in the middle of 2014.
The current Ridgeline is a five-passenger truck that rides on a unibody platform it shares with other Honda and Acura models including the Odyssey minivan and the MDX crossover. The new model will also share this platform, though there’s no word on whether the 250-horsepower V-6 engine would remain the only offering.
The Ridgeline was well-received by the press when it was initially launched, and through November of this year, sales are up by 29% over the first 11 months of 2012.
Yet because the Ridgeline is oriented more as a crossover with a bed than a tried-and-true midsize pickup truck such as the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier, its sales have lagged behind its peers. This is despite the other Japanese offerings getting old as well.
Things will only get more competitive for the entire segment in late 2014. That’s when Chevrolet and GMC will reenter the market with their all-new lineup of midsize trucks, the Colorado and Canyon, respectively.
When they do, the American brands will bring the fight for midsize truck supremacy right to Southern California’s doorstep. More of these trucks are sold in the L.A. area than any state in the U.S., save for Texas.
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