Honda Australia‘s new boss is using his ties in his former United States post as the company considers vehicles from all corners of the globe – including China – for its future lineup.
Newly installed Honda Australia CEO Jay Joseph told CarExpert his nearly three decades of working for the brand in North America mean he’s been able to exploit connections to the US supply chain.
This includes the Honda 0 Series EVs, slated to be made at the automaker’s ‘EV Hub’ in the US from 2026, which are on the cards for Australia.
The US is Honda’s biggest market by a considerable margin, with North America making up 60 per cent of its 1,361,779 global sales in the six months to June 2025.
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Products in the US include the unibody Ridgeline ute, as well as the roughly Subaru Outback-sized (and also unibody) Passport SUV and the related Pilot, a Toyota Kluger competitor.
Honda Australia also plans to add its first electric vehicle (EV) to its lineup in the second half of 2026, but it hasn’t confirmed what it will be.
In the US, it produces the electric Prologue SUV which uses a platform borrowed from General Motors. So far this year, it’s actually outselling its Chevrolet-branded cousin, the Blazer EV. Prologue sales were up 83 per cent in July, compared with the same month last year.
In China, Honda has joint ventures with Dongfeng and GAC. Under these, it produces a raft of vehicles including EVs under the Ye sub-brand such as the electric GT fastback, as well as the Honda e:Ny1 electric SUV that’s exported to countries including the UK and New Zealand.
While none of these are confirmed – and the current-generation Ridgeline all but ruled out – the Australian office is now looking beyond its typical Japanese and Thai-sourced vehicles courtesy of Mr Joseph’s background.
“I’ve been in contact with my former colleagues there quite a bit and it’s something we’re considering – we need to take a look at that. We need to look everywhere we can for products that are relevant to this market,” he said.
“A lot of the tastes in the US are quite comparable and a good fit.
“Australia is an interesting market because I would say it’s more of a western market in terms of preferences and behaviors even though it’s located here in Asia-Oceania.”
“And I think that suits it well to some products from other parts that maybe have been considered, but maybe I’ve got a chance to lobby for them a little bit stronger than in the past.”
Honda’s manufacturing footprint in the US includes four main vehicle factories, with its Marysville, Ohio, plant being the oldest. It’s been producing vehicles since 1982.
It also has design and engineering centres as part of 18 major facilities across its US operations.
“We can do full vehicle development in the United States comparable with GM (General Motors) and Ford – and I would say we’re more capable than anybody else there,” Mr Joseph told CarExpert.
“This is all part of Honda becoming a global company and leveraging its management resources on a more global basis.”
The Ridgeline, Passport and Pilot have always been built exclusively in left-hand drive, but Honda Australia did source one vehicle from North America in the past. That was the Canadian-built MDX, a rebadged large SUV from Honda’s premium Acura division, sold here from 2003 to 2006.
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