Honda reviving Passport SUV; to be unveiled Nov. 27 in L.A.

(November 16, 2018) TORRANCE, Calif. — With a video teasing its on- and off-road capabilities and adventuresome spirit, Honda has announced it will unveil the all-new 2019 Honda Passport on Nov. 27, the day before making its auto show global debut at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. The original Passport, a derivative of the Isuzu Rodeo, was Honda's first SUV and was marketed from the 1994 through 2002 model years.

The new Passport, launching early next year, expands on Honda's light-truck lineup, joining the HR-V, CR-V and Pilot as Honda's fourth SUV and its sixth light-truck model, including the Odyssey minivan and Ridgeline pickup. Passport was designed and developed in the U.S. by Honda R&D Americas and will be manufactured at Honda's Lincoln, Ala., plant.

"The new Passport is a more personal, powerful and off-road-capable SUV that hits the sweet spot between daily driving comfort and weekend off-road, all-weather adventure capability," said Henio Arcangeli, Jr., senior vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. & General Manager, Honda Division.

"With customer demand for SUVs continuing to grow, the new adventure-ready Passport is going to further solidify our lineup, attracting new buyers and keeping existing customers in the Honda family."

Honda brand light-truck sales are on track for a fourth-straight record year, on the way to top 700,000 units for the third year in a row and now accounting for more than half of the Honda brand's U.S. sales so far this year, with light-truck sales up 5.3 percent from year-ago results. Further strengthening its capacity to meet record demand for light trucks, in August Honda added production of the CR-V to a fourth North American plant, in Marysville, Ohio.

The CR-V is now Honda's top-selling model and continues as the most popular SUV in America over the past 20 years. Earlier this year, Honda launched freshened versions of its Pilot and HR-V sport-utilities, with upgraded technology, expanded availability of Honda Sensing, and more premium features. Strong demand for the Honda Pilot has sales up more than 41 percent for the first 10 months of 2018.

U.S. sales of midsize crossovers have climbed 3.8 percent this year in an overall market that has expanded just 0.5 percent.