New Honda Pickup Could Be Built by Nissan in the U.S., Reports Claim

Despite the failed merger between Honda and Nissan earlier in 2025, the two Japanese automakers continue to talk and work together on other projects. Official announcements may be forthcoming.

According to Reuters, based on information from the Nikkei business publication (but without mentioning sources), Nissan is currently studying the possibility of building pickup trucks for Honda in the U.S. at its under-utilized Canton, Mississippi plant.

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As you surely know, the company is in serious financial trouble and looking for drastic ways to cut expenses while generating more revenue, all of this in a challenging economy dictated by the new U.S. tariffs.

Honda already has a pickup, the mid-sized Ridgeline that is manufactured in Alabama using a unibody architecture. If the original report from Japan is to be believed, a similarly sized model built on the same body-on-frame chassis as the Nissan Frontier could join the lineup in the future, offering buyers a more robust alternative with greater towing capacity than the Ridgeline.

To be clear, Honda would handle the design and leave development and production to its partner. The agreement would benefit both companies, even though the new Honda truck would compete directly with the Frontier.

In mid-January, the executive vice president of Honda Motor Co., Noriya Kaihara, expressed interest in leveraging Nissan’s expertise in the full-size vehicle segments, hinting that a spinoff of the Armada SUV might be in the cards to bolster Honda’s SUV portfolio above the Pilot.

“Nissan has a little bit larger class, e-segment vehicles that we don’t have at this moment. So, if we can exchange some of our vehicles, that would be a benefit for us in the short term,” Kaihara said.

Meanwhile, Hyundai and General Motors last year signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore future collaboration across key strategic areas. According to reports, the former is looking to grab a bigger share of the highly lucrative pickup market and introduce new models that are completely different from the Santa Cruz and more like a rebadged Chevrolet Colorado or GMC Canyon.