Honda has confirmed a third-generation Honda Ridgeline and said the redesigned mid-size pickup will go on sale within two years. The company also released an initial teaser image of the new truck, giving buyers a first look at the next chapter for a nameplate that had been left hanging while Honda moved ahead with its newer Pilot and Passport SUVs.
That confirmation matters because it ends the uncertainty around the Ridgeline's future and starts a clock on the current truck. Eric Stafford, writing for Car and Driver, reported that Honda said production of the present model will pause sometime later this year, before the successor arrives and returns to the automaker's assembly plant in Alabama. For shoppers watching the segment, that means the outgoing truck is not being stretched indefinitely while Honda waits on the replacement.
Honda says the new Ridgeline will wear an even more rugged design, and it is splitting the work between Southern California and the Honda Auto Development Center in Ohio. The styling is being handled in Southern California while engineering is being done in Ohio, a sign that the next version is being treated as a full rethink rather than a light refresh.
The biggest unknown is not whether the truck is coming back. It is what Honda will do under the hood. The next Ridgeline is expected to use a new hybrid V-6 powertrain with up to three electric motors, a setup projected to improve acceleration by over 10 percent and fuel economy by over 30 percent compared with the outgoing gas-only models. Honda has not spelled out the exact specification, but the direction is clear: more efficiency, more punch, and a tougher-looking truck to match.
For a mid-size pickup that has often carved out its own lane, the confirmation is the important part. Honda has now said the Ridgeline will return, the current version will pause later this year, and the new one is due within two years. What buyers still do not know is the exact on-sale date inside that window, and that is the detail that will tell them how long they have left to buy the truck already in showrooms.
