Honda is patenting its own version of the mid-gate that's making a return on the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV pickup trucks.
First spotted by Car and Driver, a Honda patent application published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on June 27 details what the automaker calls an "adjustable cargo area partition."
But it looks an awful lot like a mid-gate, albeit with some differences from what we've seen so far on production vehicles.
Honda mid-gate patent image
Instead of completely folding down to create uninterrupted space between the bed and cab, as in the General Motors' mid-gate designs, Honda's version consists of a divider that can be moved forward and backward to change the length of the bed. Honda also suggests that the roof could be extended when the divider is in its rearmost position to provide more passenger space in the cab.
GM pioneered the mid-gate in the early 2000s with its Chevy Avalanche and Cadillac Escalade EXT, offering cab space akin to full-size SUVs of the time and pickup-like bed space in one package. However, these mid-gates left an open space in the cab when in use—something Honda's design appears to avoid.
Honda mid-gate patent image
The mid-gate is making a comeback on the Silverado EV and Sierra EV, a pair of unibody electric pickups based on GM's Ultium architecture. The production ramp-up of both trucks has been slow, however, with GM recently confirming that large-scale production of both trucks at a Michigan plant that once built the Chevy Bolt EV was being delayed until mid-2026.
Honda isn't the only automaker considering a mid-gate. Ford has filed two patent applications for mid-gate pass-throughs. One was published by the USPTO earlier this year, and another surfaced in 2023 showing a mid-gate in combination with fold-flat seats.