Honda isn’t following Hyundai and Kia into body-on-frame territory. The next-generation Honda Ridgeline keeps its unibody platform and Lance Woelfer — Honda’s vice president of auto sales — just said why at a media roundtable in Washington D.C. ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.
“It’s been a tremendous success in the current format; it’s been with a unibody,” Woelfer said. “That’s been something where it has really met market needs. It’s been selling at about 45,000 a year.”
Current Ridgeline production wraps up later this year. Then a gap. Then the next-generation Honda Ridgeline — likely arriving as a 2028 model.
Honda Is Going Left While Everyone Else Goes Right
Ram is bringing the Dakota back. Hyundai confirmed a body-on-frame mid-size truck. Kia too. Every new name entering the mid-size segment is chasing the same traditional formula — ladder frame, serious towing numbers, rugged truck-buyer credibility.
Honda looked at all of that and decided to stay exactly where it is.
The next-generation Honda Ridgeline continues on unibody construction. The Ford Maverick is the only other unibody truck in the mid-size space — and the Maverick is considerably smaller. Honda owns that specific corner of the market alone and Woelfer’s comments make clear the company intends to keep owning it.
Second generation started in the low-30,000s annually. Climbed above 40,000. Stayed above 40,000 every year since 2021. Honda isn’t switching platforms on a hunch — those are five years of buyers specifically choosing the truck that isn’t built like a truck.
What Riding on a Minivan Platform Actually Gets You
The next-generation Honda Ridgeline shares its bones with the Honda Odyssey. That sounds strange for a pickup truck. In practice it means something the Tacoma, Ranger and Colorado genuinely cannot offer — a ride quality that doesn’t rattle your fillings loose on a morning commute.
Most people who buy mid-size trucks use maybe a quarter of what the truck can actually do. They commute. They run errands. They occasionally haul something on a weekend. The Ridgeline wasn’t designed for job sites. It was designed for everyone who bought a truck and then realized they didn’t actually need one.
Current Ridgeline: 5,000-pound tow rating, 5.3-foot bed, lockable in-bed trunk you can wash out with a hose. No body-on-frame rival has that trunk. The next-generation Honda Ridgeline carries those practical advantages forward while Honda works on making the new truck more capable and tougher-looking than what’s currently on sale.
“Far More Extreme” — Woelfer’s Words on the TrailSport
Honda’s TrailSport trim has been spreading. Passport has one. Pilot has one. Both are getting upgrades according to Woelfer. Then he mentioned the Ridgeline.
“Ridgeline has a good opportunity as well,” Woelfer said. “I think there’s a lot of upside for it, so we could be far more extreme in products like that as we go forward.”
Far more extreme. About a unibody truck. From Honda’s vice president of auto sales. Honda hasn’t said what far more extreme means in hardware terms — lifted suspension, aggressive tires, locking differentials, skid plates, some combination of those. What’s clear is that the next-generation Honda Ridgeline TrailSport won’t be a cosmetic package with some trail graphics. Woelfer’s language points toward real capability upgrades rather than appearance changes.
Tacoma goes further off-road. Ranger goes further off-road. Colorado goes further off-road. None of them feel like a sedan on the highway Monday morning. That’s the gap Honda is working in.
Honda Expects the Next Ridgeline to Sell More Than the Current One
Woelfer didn’t hedge on what Honda expects from the next-generation Honda Ridgeline commercially.
“We’re really excited about the next Ridgeline,” he said. “I’m very confident that consumers will respond well to it.”
Then he said something more specific. “I think it will be a bigger contributor to our sales when it comes back.”
Bigger than 45,000 a year. That’s the target. A more capable truck, a more extreme TrailSport option, the same unibody ride quality advantage — Honda believes that combination grows the Ridgeline’s audience rather than just holding what the current model already has.
The production gap between current generation ending and 2028 model arriving gives Honda time to get the details right. Nobody is rushing this one out.
Next-Generation Honda Ridgeline — What’s Known
| Detail | Status |
|---|---|
| Expected arrival | 2028 model year |
| Platform | Unibody — confirmed by executive comments |
| Current annual sales | ~45,000 units |
| Current production end | Later this year |
| TrailSport direction | More extreme — details pending |
| Current tow rating | 5,000 pounds |
| Bed length | 5.3 feet |
| In-bed trunk | Lockable and washable |
| Closest rival | Ford Maverick — only other unibody mid-size |
| New segment entrants | Ram Dakota, Hyundai, Kia — all body-on-frame |
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the next-generation Honda Ridgeline arrive?
Likely 2028. Current production ends later this year followed by a gap before the new model hits dealerships. Honda hasn’t announced a specific date.
Will it switch to body-on-frame?
No. Woelfer’s comments at the Washington D.C. roundtable pointed clearly toward unibody continuing. Honda views the platform as the reason the Ridgeline succeeds rather than a compromise holding it back.
How many Ridgelines does Honda sell annually?
Around 45,000 — Woelfer’s figure from the roundtable. Sales have been above 40,000 every year since 2021, up from the low-30,000s earlier in the second generation’s life.
What is coming to the Ridgeline TrailSport?
Woelfer said the next-generation Honda Ridgeline TrailSport could go “far more extreme” — his words. Specific hardware hasn’t been confirmed. Expect genuine capability upgrades rather than styling changes based on how Woelfer described the direction.
What makes the Ridgeline different from a Tacoma or Ranger?
Simple answer — it rides like a car. The next-generation Honda Ridgeline shares its platform with the Odyssey minivan. Tacoma and Ranger ride on ladder frames built for serious truck work. That gap in daily driving comfort is real and noticeable to anyone who has spent time in both. The lockable washable in-bed trunk is the other thing — no body-on-frame truck offers it.
What does Honda expect from the next Ridgeline commercially?
A bigger contributor to our sales’ — Woelfer’s exact words. Honda currently moves around 45,000 Ridgelines a year. The next-generation Honda Ridgeline needs to clear that bar and then some.
Why isn’t Honda going body-on-frame like Hyundai and Kia?
45,000 people a year buy the current Ridgeline specifically because it isn’t a traditional truck. It rides better. It parks easier. It has a trunk in the bed. Switching to body-on-frame means giving all that up to become one more option in a segment already crowded with them. Honda looked at that math and stayed put.
2028 is a different mid-size truck market than the one the current Ridgeline knows. Ram is back with the Dakota. Hyundai and Kia both confirmed body-on-frame trucks are coming. Toyota, Ford and Chevrolet keep getting better. The next-generation Honda Ridgeline walks into all of that on a minivan platform, with a trunk in the bed, riding more comfortably than any of them. Woelfer thinks 45,000 units a year becomes more. Honda is betting the buyers who chose the Ridgeline because it wasn’t a traditional truck will keep showing up — and bring a few new ones with them.
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