Not every brand in Australia needs a ute, says Honda
The Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux utes have been the best-selling vehicles in Australia for the past decade – the HiLux from 2015 through 2022, the Ranger since.
In 2025 alone, they've been joined by new entrants including the Kia Tasman – the South Korean brand's first dual-cab ute – as well as the Chinese BYD Shark 6 and LDV Terron 9.'Does every brand need one? No,' Honda Australia CEO Jay Joseph told CarExpert. 'Do we need one? Not necessarily, but if we have one it needs to be the right one.'
CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
Above: Honda Ridgeline
Among the top 10 best-selling brands in the first half of 2025, Hyundai and MG are the only not offering a dual-cab ute, but MG will introduce the U9 – twinned with the LDV Terron 9 – later this year, leaving Hyundai an outlier.
Looking at the top 20 brands' sales to the end of June, only six don't have a dual-cab ute in showrooms.
That includes Honda Australia, which finished 19th on the sales chart over the first six months of the year.
The Japanese brand does make a dual-cab ute – the second-generation Ridgeline – which it manufactures and sells in the US, but it isn't planned for an Australia berth anytime soon. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
'Regardless of what a brand needs, it doesn't make sense to bring one to market that doesn't suit consumer needs,' Mr Joseph said.
'The current Ridgeline – as it's configured in the United States – Australian customers expect more towing capacity than that offers, [and] obviously right-hand drive sort of takes it off the table, and it's not this product that's in its ninth year.'
The Ridgeline uses unibody construction – like passenger cars – where the most popular dual-cabs in Australia use body-on-frame construction which is preferred for off-roading.
At 5339mm length, it's only slightly longer than a HiLux, and is powered by a 209kW/355Nm 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine with a towing capacity of 2286kg – well short of the benchmark 3500kg tow rating of leading dual cabs sold here.
'In terms of a ute – and it's been a long question for Honda for many years – in some ways, yeah we'd love it and we'd love to have had it for a number of years, but it's not available,' said Honda Australia managing director Rob Thorp. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
'We've seen growth opportunities in the market without that [a dual-cab ute] in our product portfolio right now.'
'Even when you look at the markets as they are, there's still a lot in passenger, in SUV, and there's a lot of opportunity in those segments that we are probably more nationally aligned to.
'If one's available [a ute], we'd look at it – but it's not something we desperately, desperately need to be successful.'
Nikkei reported earlier this month that Nissan has commenced discussions with Honda to supply it with a ute out of an under-utilised plant in the US.
Should this ute eventuate, it could potentially be related to Nissan's body-on-frame Frontier, however like that model it could be left-hand drive-only.
MORE: Explore the Honda Australia showroom
MORE: Is Honda planning a proper ladder-frame ute to take on the Ford Ranger?
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