Honda will soon be joining Nissan in rebadging the Triton as a pickup truck of its very own.
Things may be getting a little desperate at Honda, as the Japanese automaker has recently announced that it will soon be entering the pickup truck market in Asia. What more too is that it has since been confirmed that this new pickup will be a reskinned Mitsubishi, with the Big H having signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the tri-diamond marque to rebadge its Triton.
Hence, yes, while the proposed merger between Honda and Nissan may have fizzled out of existence, both Japanese automakers will nevertheless share the same trait of turning to Mitsubishi for a pickup truck with their own badge on it. Also, while Honda has yet to share any details about its upcoming truck, what we can already learn from the latest Nissan Navara (which is not offered here in Malaysia) is that it will likely be little more than a Triton with some mildly altered styling.
Looking at the latest Navara, we can expect this upcoming Honda pickup to feature a more familiar Honda family face up front, while retaining the Triton’s boxy silhouette. Similarly, the cabin will also likely remain very much Mitsubishi, albeit with a big H on the steering wheel.
As for engines meanwhile, the Honda-badged Triton will likely inherit Mitsubishi’s 2.4-litre 4N16 turbodiesel, which produces either 184 hp and 430 Nm or 204 hp and 470 Nm in its twin-stage turbocharged form (as found in the flagship Triton Athlete). Likewise, drive will likely be sent to all four wheels via a six-speed manual or automatic transmission, with Mitsubishi’s Easy Select four-wheel drive system also expected to make the cut.
The Honda-badged Triton will be sold exclusively in the Southeast Asian (ASEAN) market, with sales scheduled to begin sometime in 2028. And while it may seem a little lazy for the Big H to copy someone else’s homework when it comes to building a pickup, this arrangement will allow Honda to add an entirely new segment to its lineup with relatively little investment, and much faster than if it were to develop a truck from scratch.
For Mitsubishi’s part too, this deal should bring higher production volumes and the associated economies of scale. And lest we forget, the latest Triton is actually quite a good pickup, so this could well be a win-win for everyone involved.
What is nevertheless worth pointing out is that this upcoming truck will not technically be Honda’s first rodeo in the pickup market, with the Big H having produced its Ridgeline in North America for over two decades already. That truck, however, shares its platform with the Pilot SUV and uses a unibody construction, making this Triton-based model Honda’s first-ever foray into the body-on-frame pickup segment.
