Honda’s First Modern Ladder-Frame Pickup Will Come From Mitsubishi

• Honda will sell a Mitsubishi Triton-based pickup in ASEAN markets starting in 2028.

• The deal is the first complementary-supply initiative between Honda and Mitsubishi.

• Mitsubishi expects higher volume and capacity utilization at its Thailand plant.

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Honda and Mitsubishi Motors signed a memorandum of understanding today to develop a Honda pickup truck based on the Mitsubishi Triton. The new Honda model is scheduled to go on sale in markets of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2028.

It is the first complementary vehicle-supply initiative between the two automakers, meaning one company provides a model to fill a hole in the other’s lineup.

First Honda-Mitsubishi Supply Deal Targets 2028 ASEAN Launch

Honda sells no pickup in ASEAN markets today. Sourcing the Triton gets it into the segment quickly, without the cost of engineering a ladder-frame platform or tooling a plant to build one.

Mitsubishi gets something just as useful: more work for its Thailand plant, where it expects the Honda model to raise production volume and capacity utilization. That plant could use the help. Mitsubishi sold 82,766 Triton-line units globally in 2025, down from 113,565 in 2022.

From Report to Signed Deal in 13 Days

If this sounds familiar, it should. We reported on October 9 that Honda could sell a Triton-based pickup in Southeast Asia from 2028. Honda declined to discuss the reports at the time, and Mitsubishi withheld comment, though spokesperson Shiori Akiyama confirmed the three companies were discussing “several possible forms of collaboration.”

Today’s agreement locks in both the 2028 timing and the ASEAN focus.

Triton Basis: One-Tonne Ladder-Frame Pickup With Up to 201 hp

So what is Honda actually borrowing? Mitsubishi classes the Triton as a one-tonne, ladder-frame pickup and lists it among its global strategic models, with strong demand across ASEAN. The current generation went on sale in Thailand in July 2023. Mitsubishi’s launch specifications:

• Frame: ladder frame with a 65% larger cross-section than the previous generation
• Engine: 2.4-litre turbodiesel four-cylinder (4N16)
• High-output version: 201 hp, 347 lb-ft
• Standard versions: 181 hp and 317 lb-ft, or 148 hp and 243 lb-ft
• Transmissions: six-speed automatic or six-speed manual
• Four-wheel drive: Super Select 4WD-II or Easy Select 4WD
• Drive modes: seven, on Super Select 4WD-II models

For reference, the high-output engine’s 347 lb-ft sits just shy of the 369 lb-ft Chevrolet’s 2.8-litre Duramax diesel delivered in the Colorado here until 2022.

Super Select 4WD-II uses a torque-sensing centre differential that splits drive 40% front and 60% rear, so four-wheel drive can stay engaged on dry pavement. That suits roads that switch between bare asphalt and loose gravel, or snow, in a single trip. The centre differential locks in the 4HLc and 4LLc modes for tougher terrain.

Deal Builds on August 1, 2024 Honda-Nissan-Mitsubishi Framework

The pickup agreement stems from a strategic partnership framework set out in a memorandum of understanding signed on August 1, 2024, which also includes Nissan. Under that framework, the three companies have studied complementary vehicle supply on both a short-term and a medium-to-long-term basis.

Honda and Nissan ended their merger talks in February 2025, yet the framework stayed in place. The three automakers now state they plan to deepen it to strengthen their competitiveness and respond to a wider range of customer needs.

Honda’s Triton-Based Pickup Announced for ASEAN Only

As for Canadian truck shoppers, this one stays on the other side of the Pacific. Honda’s announcement covers ASEAN markets only, and the Triton is not part of Mitsubishi’s Canadian lineup.

Closer to home, Honda’s unibody Ridgeline is on hiatus until a new generation arrives, expected around 2028.