Honda will begin exporting two models from U.S. plants to Japan, Headlight.News learned, marking the first time it has done that in four decades. The move echoes plans by Toyota which late last year said it would export three American-made products to its home market.
The Honda Passport TrailSport Elite, one of two models the automaker plans to begin selling in Japan later this year.
Two Honda products assembled by the automaker in Ohio will begin finding a new market later this year as exports targeting Japan.
Honda on Sunday will focus on two models, Headlight.News learned this past weekend, the Passport SUV and the Acura Integra, marking the first appearance of the high-line brand in Japan. More broadly, it will be the first time Honda has exported any American-made vehicles to Japan in nearly four decades.
A spokesman for American Honda said the decision was made due to “anticipated customer demand” for the two U.S.-made products – and follows the announcement by Toyota last December that it will export three of its own products back to Japan. But several analysts question how much demand there actually will be for the Integra and Passport considering both will retain U.S. specifications that aren’t necessarily in sync with the Japanese market.
What’s new
The Acura Integra Type S, like the Honda Passport TrailSport Elite, will be sold in Japan in U.S. spec, including left-hand drive, likely limiting demand.
Japan has long been a major exporter to the United States., exporting about $36 billion worth of vehicles to the States in 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Vehicles going the other direction were worth less than $1 billion.
In Honda’s case, the automaker hasn’t sent American-made vehicles to its home market since launching a brief reverse-export program back in 1988.
Japanese manufacturers have come under increasing pressure from the Trump administration to resume such exports to offset the automotive trade balance between the two countries. On December 19, 2025 Toyota announced it would begin shipping three products to Japan produced in the States: the Camry sedan, Highlander SUV, and Tundra pickup truck. Honda will now add two models of its own to the flow.
Both automakers expect to begin their exports to Japan late this year.
What models are covered?
Two U.S. plants will benefit from the export program, including the original Honda assembly line in Marysville, Ohio.
The automaker said it will ship “limited quantities” of these two product lines:
- The Honda Passport TrailSport Elite, the most expensive version of the SUV. The off-road-oriented package will feature a 3.5-liter V-6 engine rated at 285 hp. In the U.S. it has a base price of $53,900; and
- The Acura Integra Type S, the sportiest version of the automaker’s compact sedan, powered by a 320-hp turbocharged 2,0-liter engine.
Passport is assembled at a Honda plant in Lincoln, Alabama, while the Integra comes from the automaker’s plant in Marysville, Ohio, its first U.S. assembly plant which opened in November 1982 as the first Japanese-owned “transplant” auto plant in the U.S. (A Honda motorcycle plant in Marysville opened in September 1979.)
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This could be a hard sell
Toyota also plans to begin exports from the U.S. to Japan, the Camry among the three models chosen.
This will mark the first time an Acura-badged product will be available in Japan. Currently, the marque is sold in only five countries: the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Panama and Kuwait. Honda appears to be hoping the uniqueness will help build interest in the move.
The automaker isn’t saying just how many vehicles it plans to export to Japan but analysts question how much demand there’ll be, Sam Fiorani, lead analyst with AutoForecast Solutions anticipating the pair will generate no more than 6,000 sales annually.
There are several reasons for such skepticism. For one thing, the Passport is a particularly large vehicle by the standards of Japan where Kei-class microcars accounted for 33.4% of the country’s market, according to JATO Dynamics, a Japanese auto data service.
There’s also the fact that the two Honda products will maintain U.S. specifications, thanks to a recent Japanese government move to loosen restrictions on U.S. auto imports. But that can restrict demand, notably because both Integra and Passport will feature left-hand drive. The Japanese market normally relies on vehicles with driver controls on the right side.
Still, both models are strong sellers in the U.S. and Honda appears hoping that success will carry across the Pacific Ocean.
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