The newest SUVs navigating a path down the assembly lines of the Honda Alabama Auto Plant are built for more rugged destinations once they depart the $3 billion plant and dealer showrooms.

Honda Alabama leaders and the plant’s 4,500-plus workers recently celebrated the production launches of the all-new 2026 Passport and Passport TrailSport SUVs.

Ellen McNair, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, said Honda’s launch of the two models underscores the strength of Alabama’s manufacturing workforce and the deep expertise at the Honda Alabama Auto Plant.

“Honda has been a key driver of economic growth and job creation in Alabama for more than two decades, and we’re proud to see this next-generation SUV take shape right here in Lincoln,” she said. “We look forward to the continued success of Honda and its dedicated team of more than 4,500 associates as they bring world-class vehicles to drivers across the country.”

Honda is calling the new Passport its “most off-road capable” SUV ever and the Passport TrailSport Honda’s “ultimate adventure vehicle.” The new vehicles are built exclusively at the 4.9-million-square-foot Alabama facility.

“Honda associates in Alabama worked with ingenuity and determination to bring to market the most rugged Honda SUV ever for our customers, the all-new 2026 Honda Passport,” said Lamar Whitaker, plant leader of the Honda Alabama Auto Plant.

Honda Alabama leaders and the plant’s 4,500-plus workers recently celebrated the production launches of the all-new 2026 Passport and Passport TrailSport SUVs at the facility in Lincoln. (Honda Alabama)

New production technologies

The fourth-generation Passport lineup includes the Passport TrailSport, which features a 3.5-liter DOHC V-6 — also built at the engine plant in Lincoln — and Passport’s first 10-speed automatic transmission and a number of new rugged enhancements.

The 2026 Passport comes in three primary trim levels — RTL, TrailSport and TrailSport Elite — built on the Honda light truck architecture first applied two years ago to the new Honda Pilot, an extremely rigid platform that was engineered for off-road capabilities.

“The deep collaboration of the Honda R&D, manufacturing and purchasing teams enabled us to create a high-quality Honda Passport that also will be easier for our associates to build,” said Mike Smith, senior staff engineer at the Honda Alabama Auto Plant and the Engineering Project leader for Passport.

Honda employees had to implement new production technologies and processes for the new models.

In addition to the Passport models, the Honda Alabama Auto Plant produces the Pilot SUV, Odyssey minivan and Ridgeline pickup, with an annual capacity to produce more than 340,000 vehicles and V6 engines.

The facility has produced more than 6.5 million vehicles since production began in 2001.

This story previously appeared on the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website.