Mazda BT-50 reveal

Mazda also flew in chief designer Ryo Yanagisawa from Hiroshima for the event and the Australian International Motor Show. 

Yamaouchi used the occasion to not only unveil the BT-50, but also announce its next generation of efficient Sky G petrol and Sky D diesel engines with Sky Drive transmission and i-stop stop-start technology will arrive in Australia over the next two years.

The Sky G two-litre petrol engine improves economy and power by 15 per cent and will be here next year while the Sky D 2.2-litre has 4.2L/100km economy and 112g of Cos per kilometre and will arrived in 2012.

The pick-up will begin production in Thailand in June and will be bigger, longer and wider with a deeper rear tub, a more car-like interior and more leg and knee room than the market-leading Toyota HiLux.  Apart from the promise of an "all-new drivetrain" to match the "all-new body and chassis", details of features, specification, crash rating, model line-up and pricing were not revealed.

In the company's first major new release in 18 months, Mazda Australia managing director Doug Dickson says he can only reveal design details.  However, when pressed he confirms they will continue with a diesel-only strategy and he promises "keen pricing".

"All I can tell you, apart from that, is the dual cab will have the same equipment levels as our passenger cars and we're expecting to start getting them soon after production," he says.

This compares with the level of detail in the motor show launch of the Ford Ranger which shares the platform.  Ford announced it would have a better payload, towing and off-road abilities which could be reasonably expected from the same chassis in the Mazda.

However, Ford went further announcing such specification detail as side and curtain airbags, electronic stability control, trailer sway control, six-speed transmission, rear park assist and rearview camera.  “We’ve taken a different approach to releasing that information later,” Dickson says.

Yanagisawa describes his design as "athletic".  "I thought the relationship between the current BT-50 and the company's Zoom-Zoom ethic was weak," he says.

The new model is shaped "like a wedge" with prominent fenders from the RX-8.  Up front, it features a five-point grille while the rear is highlighted by horizontal taillights rather than the industry standard vertical lights.

This requires the taillights to be split into two with part on the tailgate. Cab chassis models will feature different taillights.  In profile, the BT-50 has a bulbous bonnet, high door sills, less glass and a deep 510mm tub with tie down points.

Suspension remains a mixture of live rear axle and leaf springs with coil-over front springs.  Yanagisawa says the interior of the current model is "very truck like".

The new "sporty" interior features a swooping dashboard, prominent centre stack, wrap-around driver's cockpit and the promise of creature features such as cruise control and satellite navigation, going by the buttons on the pre-production display model.  Thankfully the ancient and awkward umbrella-stick handbrake has been replaced by a conventional handbrake on the centre console.

Dickson says their current pick-up customers are older than their competitors and more likely to use the vehicle for work.  "We expect customers (of the new BT-50) to be males aged 30 to 49, married with kids and small business owners," he says.
"We're going to kick some sales goals."

HISTORY

THERE has been a B series ute in the Mazda range since 1966, making it the longest-running model.  It has been known by several names, frequently referring to the engine displacement but also known here as the Bravo.

More than 145,000 have been sold in Australia over the past four decades.  So far this year, Mazda has sold 3461 two-wheel-drive BT-50s, down 621 or 16 per cent, while four-wheel-drive sales are down by nine to 3513.

Mazda Australian managing director Doug Dickson says the pick-up and cab chassis segments are up 14 per cent, with dual cabs outselling single cabs two to one.  Mazda currently has a 15 per cent share of single cab 4x4 diesel sales and a 35 per cent share in single cab 4x2 diesel, but only a 4 per cent share of dual cab 4x4 and 4x2 sales.

"The market demands more car-like comfort and style," Dickson says.  "I expect to see big gains in this area with the new BT-50."

Dickson says pick-ups are the new alternative to SUVs for private buyers.  "More than 70 per cent of BT-50 buyers are private and small business," he says.

"There will be no formal fleet push.  We have a specific strategy to stay away from government fleet business.  Sometimes we can't get sufficient supply for private and small business, so we can't chase big business or government fleet sales."

Dickson predicts Mazda will sell about 85,000 vehicles this year for an 8.3 per cent market share.

THE DESIGNER

THE chief designer of the Mazda BT-50 bought an older version of the pick-up when he joined the company as a designer in 1991.

"I lowered the suspension and fitted wider tyres. I used it to go snow boarding and trail bike riding," says Ryo Yanagisawa.  "This was the starting point for new BT-50."

In his first role as project chief designer, Yanagisawa spent two years at the Ford design studios in Melbourne designing the pick-up on the same platform as the Ford Ranger. 

He says he was inspired by Uluru, the Great Ocean Rd and Tasmania.  "This has strongly affected the design of the BT-50," he says. 

Yanagisawa drives an RX-8 which he has lowered and fitted with wide tyres, and lists his hobbies as furniture making and watch collecting.