Honda's revived Passport crossover is getting a major promotional and media launch with a global debut set for the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Honda Motor Co. said Thursday it will introduce the 2019 Honda Passport on Nov. 27, the day before it makes its global auto show debut at the L.A. show.
It will be launched early next year and expand Honda's crossover lineup to four nameplates after the HR-V, CR-V and Pilot. The Passport, designed and developed in the U.S., is expected to be about 6 inches shorter than the Pilot. The two-row crossover will compete against Ford's Edge, Chevrolet's new Blazer, Hyundai's Santa Fe and Nissan's Murano in the midsize crossover segment.
Honda's U.S. dealers are getting their first chance to see the Passport at a meeting in San Francisco Thursday, a Honda spokeswoman said.
The original Passport, a derivative of the Isuzu Rodeo, was Honda's first SUV and was marketed from the 1994 through 2002 model years.
U.S. sales of midsize crossovers have climbed 3.8 percent this year in an overall market that has expanded just 0.5 percent.
Honda, noting that consumer demand for SUVs and crossovers continues to grow, said the Passport will help draw new buyers and keep "existing customers in the Honda family."
"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 the automobile division of American Honda Motor Co.
Honda's U.S. light-truck sales, up 5.3 percent this year, are on track to set a record for the fourth straight year, and exceed 700,000 for the third year in a row.
With car deliveries off 9.8 percent, light trucks account for more than half of the Honda brand's U.S. sales so far this year. The Passport will be manufactured at Honda's plant in Lincoln, Ala.
