Rekindling the Relationship
Honda and Nissan’s supposed merger failed spectacularly even before the two could even sign the prenup. It was one of the biggest stories of 2025, and quite possibly one of the most public breakups in the automotive industry. If it’s any consolation, at least it didn’t become as messy as the whole DaimlerChrysler ordeal.
Fast forward to 2026 and the two are still talking. Not only that, Nissan has been blooming while Honda is picking itself up after its first recorded loss in nearly 70 years. Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi are still working together to build standardized parts to lessen costs. Not only that, Nissan and Honda are working together on unified vehicle operating systems. Despite everything, the two are still ‘friends’ with the common goal of matching, or even beating, China Speed while still keeping healthy margins.
Honda/Cole Attisha
The Next Step
While the two are still ironing out more details, a report from Automotive News dropped a bit of a bombshell. The publication mentioned Honda ‘exploring production opportunities with Nissan that could yield body-on-frame models.’ It’s quite the shocker given how Honda has traditionally done things its way without much in the way of outside help. If there’s any need to prove that, there’s the Ridgeline.
If true, it has all the potential to make Honda a more serious contender in the truck and SUV market. It’s not that its Pilot, Passport, and Ridgeline are slow sellers, but rather, the things that make those products clever are also the reasons it’s being held back in the light truck market. With full-frame models, more people might just take the brand more seriously.
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A Frontier-Based Honda?
The report didn’t go into any specifics, but the scope of the planned project has a lot of possibilities. It could simply be a rebadge job, or it might actually result in a co-developed model with one shared platform.
As far as we can tell, Honda’s plan for a ladder-frame vehicle could be kicked off by the next-generation Frontier that will also underpin the reborn Xterra and the more off-road oriented version of the future Pathfinder. For those who remember, Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa told reporters about the talks with Honda, saying, “We continue talking about what we could do in North America, particularly around the D segment, larger vehicles, not C segment, but above the C segment.”
Honda, on the other hand, can lend a hand in developing more electrified models for Nissan, going beyond e-Power technology. Honda could help Nissan develop six-cylinder hybrids that it can also use for itself in the long run. After all, the company knows a thing or two about hybridizing V6 engines, with the Acura RLX/Honda Legend and NSX being prime examples. Honda itself said that it has plans to electrify its D-segment SUVs in the future, as the Passport, Pilot, Ridgeline, and Odyssey are sorely lacking hybrid versions, something most of its rivals have in their respective segments. It’s ironic, given that Honda was one of the pioneers of hybrid powertrains.
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The First Attempt
Now, this isn’t Honda’s first foray into the world of ladder-frame vehicles. It had a partnership with Isuzu that ran from 1993 to 2002. The deal was to rebadge each other’s models to fill the gaps in their lineups. Honda provided Isuzu with sedans, while Isuzu lent its pickup and SUVs to Honda.
One of the odd results of that was the Tourmaster. It was literally an Isuzu Pickup with Honda badges swapped onto it, and it even came with a diesel engine. Perhaps to the surprise of no one, it flopped, mainly due to the lack of differentiation and the higher price Honda slapped on it. About 2,000 units, more or less, were ever made. The Isuzu Rodeo-based Passport wasn’t much of a success, and neither was the Isuzu Trooper-based Acura SLX.
Hopefully, Honda learned from that lesson, so it’s possible that the pickup/SUV collab with Nissan will go beyond badge swaps. At the time of writing, both automakers haven’t said anything about it, but we wouldn’t be surprised if there will be hints down the line.
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