Click for more.
Honda (7267.T and NYSE: HMC) today announced plans to export the U.S. designed, and built Honda Passport, as well as the U.S.-built Integra Type S to Japan. While Honda is a long-standing exporter of vehicles, the performance Integra variant will become the first Acura-branded vehicle sold in Japan. [Since they are both left-hand drive, this sounds more like a hobby than a serious business venture with large sales potential – AutoCrat]*
“Since Honda began auto production in America more than four decades ago, we have been dedicated to delivering quality for the world, made in the U.S.A.,” said Jun Jayaraman, senior vice president of the Manufacturing Management Center at Honda Development & Manufacturing of America. “From the onset, Honda has believed in our American manufacturing talent, and we are proud to export quality vehicles built by our associates in Alabama to Honda customers in Japan.”
“Building Acura models in America for the past thirty years has been a source of immense pride, and now exporting the American‑built Integra Type S to Japan takes that pride to a new level,” said Jayaraman.
Integra Type S is built exclusively at the Marysville Auto Plant in Ohio, using domestic and globally made parts. Sales of Integra Type S will begin in Japan in the second half of 2026. The Integra Type S will be offered in Japan matching U.S. market specifications, including left-hand-drive, “to deliver a new interpretation of ultimate street performance for the next generation of enthusiast drivers, with class-leading power and dynamic capabilities paired with premium features and refinement.”
Standard high-performance hardware includes a turbocharged 2.0-liter VTEC® engine Preview (opens in a new tab)producing 320 horsepower and the only available manual transmission in its class – a short-throw 6-speed with an automatic rev-matching system. A limited slip differential puts the engine’s power to the pavement.
Honda exhibited the 2026 Passport at the Tokyo Auto Salon and Osaka Auto Messe, held earlier this year, where it claims many visitors showed strong interest in this model and expressed excitement over the possibility of the model being available for the Japan market. The top Passport TrailSport Elite trim Honda will offer in Japan matches U.S. market specifications, including left-hand-drive, V6 power, torque-vectoring i-VTM4® all-wheel drive, reinforced steel skid plates, off-road tuned suspension, all-terrain tires, stout front and rear recovery points, and TrailWatch™ camera system. Sales of Passport in Japan will also begin in the second half of 2026. Passport is made at Honda Alabama Auto Plant in Lincoln, Alabama.
In March 1988, Honda became the first Japanese automaker to import its own U.S.-made vehicles to Japan, with a shipment of Accord Coupe automobiles and Gold Wing GL1500 motorcycles made at Honda plants in Marysville, Ohio, USA. Since beginning overseas exports of U.S.-made automobiles in 1987, Honda has exported more than 1.75 million Acura and Honda vehicles to global markets. This includes nearly 300,000 vehicle exports to Japan.
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Acura and Honda to Export U.S. Made Vehicles to Japan
Click for more.
Honda (7267.T and NYSE: HMC) today announced plans to export the U.S. designed, and built Honda Passport, as well as the U.S.-built Integra Type S to Japan. While Honda is a long-standing exporter of vehicles, the performance Integra variant will become the first Acura-branded vehicle sold in Japan. [Since they are both left-hand drive, this sounds more like a hobby than a serious business venture with large sales potential – AutoCrat]*
“Since Honda began auto production in America more than four decades ago, we have been dedicated to delivering quality for the world, made in the U.S.A.,” said Jun Jayaraman, senior vice president of the Manufacturing Management Center at Honda Development & Manufacturing of America. “From the onset, Honda has believed in our American manufacturing talent, and we are proud to export quality vehicles built by our associates in Alabama to Honda customers in Japan.”
“Building Acura models in America for the past thirty years has been a source of immense pride, and now exporting the American‑built Integra Type S to Japan takes that pride to a new level,” said Jayaraman.
Integra Type S is built exclusively at the Marysville Auto Plant in Ohio, using domestic and globally made parts. Sales of Integra Type S will begin in Japan in the second half of 2026. The Integra Type S will be offered in Japan matching U.S. market specifications, including left-hand-drive, “to deliver a new interpretation of ultimate street performance for the next generation of enthusiast drivers, with class-leading power and dynamic capabilities paired with premium features and refinement.”
Standard high-performance hardware includes a turbocharged 2.0-liter VTEC® engine Preview (opens in a new tab)producing 320 horsepower and the only available manual transmission in its class – a short-throw 6-speed with an automatic rev-matching system. A limited slip differential puts the engine’s power to the pavement.
Honda exhibited the 2026 Passport at the Tokyo Auto Salon and Osaka Auto Messe, held earlier this year, where it claims many visitors showed strong interest in this model and expressed excitement over the possibility of the model being available for the Japan market. The top Passport TrailSport Elite trim Honda will offer in Japan matches U.S. market specifications, including left-hand-drive, V6 power, torque-vectoring i-VTM4® all-wheel drive, reinforced steel skid plates, off-road tuned suspension, all-terrain tires, stout front and rear recovery points, and TrailWatch™ camera system. Sales of Passport in Japan will also begin in the second half of 2026. Passport is made at Honda Alabama Auto Plant in Lincoln, Alabama.
In March 1988, Honda became the first Japanese automaker to import its own U.S.-made vehicles to Japan, with a shipment of Accord Coupe automobiles and Gold Wing GL1500 motorcycles made at Honda plants in Marysville, Ohio, USA. Since beginning overseas exports of U.S.-made automobiles in 1987, Honda has exported more than 1.75 million Acura and Honda vehicles to global markets. This includes nearly 300,000 vehicle exports to Japan.
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.