Honda's First Ladder-Frame Pickup Will Be a Rebadged Mitsubishi Triton, Due in ASEAN in 2028

Honda and Mitsubishi Motors signed a memorandum of understanding on October 22 for the development of a Honda model based on the Mitsubishi Triton pickup truck, the companies announced from Tokyo. The new Honda model is scheduled to go on sale in the ASEAN market in 2028. It is the first initiative between the two companies for complementary supply to each other's product lineups — one company filling a hole in the other's range with an existing vehicle.

The logic is straightforward on both sides. Honda currently offers no pickup in ASEAN markets, where one-ton trucks are among the most popular body styles and the segment is led by the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max and the Triton itself. Developing a ladder-frame platform from scratch would cost years and billions; borrowing the Triton gets Honda into the fight quickly. For Mitsubishi, the deal means more volume and better capacity utilization at its Thailand plant, where the Triton is built. Mitsubishi sold 82,766 Triton-line units globally in 2025, down from 113,565 in 2022, so the plant has room.

The deal grows out of the strategic partnership framework the two companies signed with Nissan on August 1, 2024. Honda's North American Ridgeline, by contrast, rides on a unibody SUV platform, so the Triton-based truck will be Honda's first true body-on-frame pickup of the modern era — even if it wears a Honda badge over Mitsubishi bones. No name, specifications, pricing or country-by-country availability have been announced, and Honda has not said whether the truck will reach markets beyond ASEAN. The current-generation Triton debuted globally in 2023 with a 2.4-litre turbodiesel producing up to 204 PS and 470 Nm, and reports suggest the Honda version will likely adopt Honda styling over the shared platform, much as Nissan's Triton-based Navara does.