Honda Ridgeline Sales Are Down, As Is The Case With Most Trucks

We’ve spent a lot of time lately covering Honda Ridgeline owners who are happy with their trucks, but loyalty from current owners hasn’t translated to sales in the second quarter of 2026.

That’s a 6.2 percent decrease year-over-year.

Sales of the Ridgeline dropped from 13,330 in the second quarter of 2025 to 12,510 in the second quarter of 2026.

Here’s Why Truck Sales Slid

It seems, at least as shown by TFL Truck, that sales for trucks, particularly mid-size and compact trucks, are down across the board, although there are some outliers.

The Nissan Frontier, Toyota Tacoma, and GMC Canyon had sales gains, but the Chevrolet Colorado (which shares its platform with the GMC), Ford Ranger, and Jeep Gladiator were down in sales.

Meanwhile, the compact Ford Maverick and outgoing Hyundai Santa Cruz were also down in sales.

It can be hard to find out why a market segment is up or down in a given quarter, but this industry observer has some ideas. Pickup trucks, like all vehicles, have gotten expensive, and cash-strapped consumers may be waiting for prices to come down or seeking deals.

Aside from the Tacoma, Maverick, and S, most of these trucks are riding on aging platforms, as well, and buyers might be waiting for new or redesigned product. With the Santa Cruz on the verge of discontinuation, it stands to reason that outside of buyers swooping up the last units, the truck’s numbers would crater.

Not only are new-vehicle prices high, but the cost of living and inflation is squeezing consumers. The high cost of fuel plays a part, too. Not only do high fuel prices squeeze household budgets, but car buyers might shy away from vehicles that don’t sip gas when the price at the pump is high. Even smaller trucks are generally less fuel-efficient than cars, and while the Tacoma and Maverick offer hybrid powertrains, other trucks are gas only.

There’s one other factor at play - the compact and mid-size truck segments were hot not too long ago, and the market may simply be cooling off, as “hot” market segments tend to do.

Here’s Why The Ridgeline Slipped

While we’ve seen that current Honda Ridgeline owners are quite happy with their rigs, that customer satisfaction didn’t stop a more than six percent slide year-over-year this quarter. I suspect that Ridgeline sales are down for all the reasons listed above, but also because the next-generation Ridgeline is on the way, and some buyers are holding out for an updated truck with new features and perhaps the rumored hybrid powertrain. Sure, some buyers might swoop a Ridgeline now because they like the current styling or would rather have the current internal-combustion-only V6 powertrain.

Sales of an aging generation typically sag as the anticipated launch of the next redesign nears, and that could be the case with the Honda Ridgeline.

It is worth noting that the percentage drop was relatively small. One might expect it to be worse, given the looming presence of the next-gen Ridgeline and all the external market forces referenced above.

That indicates that not only are some buyers snagging Ridgelines before the current generation sunsets and/or that the truck is plenty desirable among truck intenders who can’t or don’t want to wait for the next generation.

The new-vehicle market is in a weird place right now, generally speaking. The average transaction price has climbed above $50K and I am hearing, anecdotally, about buyers taking out super-long car loans. The electric-vehicle market is retreating in the U.S. while growing globally. Chinese car companies are itching to break into the U.S. market.

That backdrop, combined with other factors mentioned above, need to be considered while asking why an individual vehicle has or hasn’t sold well. But there are also model-specific reasons for sales surges or slides. The Honda Ridgeline’s small slide is likely more related to model-specific factors, but the overall market is challenging.

Images: Honda

About The Author

Tim Healey is an experienced automotive writer and editor from Chicago. He has covered automotive news at Consumer Guide Automotive, Web2Carz, AutoGuide, and was the managing editor at The Truth About Cars. Tim is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association. You can find him on Facebook, X/Twitter, and on LinkedIn.