Mazda News

Mazda has made a number of small tweaks to the BT-50 ute for model year 2024 including a new variant and off-road mode. There are almost no price changes beyond the high-spec BT-50 SP dual cab climbing $230 to $68,890 before on-road costs. All other variants from the $35,520 XS price leader to flagship Thunder ($74,095) remain unchanged. Until the end of this financial year, Mazda is running drive-away specials on the XT dual cab ($49,990) and SP dual cab ($64,670) for ABN holders. For 2024, Mazda has brought the practical dual cab chassis configuration to the leather upholstered GT 4x4 trim for $61,260 before on-road costs. It features LED headlights, dual-zone climate, 9.0-inch multimedia touchscreen, leather-appointed steering wheel and shifter, chrome mirror caps, heated seats with brown leather upholstery and remote start function using the key fob over the XTR trim. All 4x4 models now get a Rough Terrain Mode, which can be engaged using a button next to the shifter. To maintain traction in technical conditions, the system modulates throttle and brake inputs at low speed to intervene ‘before wheel spin can occur’. The XS and XT grades get auto relock functionality, previously reserved for XTR trims and above with advanced keyless entry. The Isuzu D-Max-related BT-50 continues a 110kW/350Nm 1.9-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder in the base XS while all other models use a 140kW/450Nm 3.0-litre '4JJ3-TCX' turbo diesel renowned for i9ts towing ability and reliability.A six-speed manual transmission is standard up to XTR with six-speed automatic optional. From GT up, all variants are auto.The small updates, drive-away prices and added off-road tech may push BT-50 sales closer to rivals such as the Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Triton. So far this year, Mazda’s luxury-focused ute has found 4811 homes, ahead of the Nissan Navara and GWM Ute Cannon but behind market leaders.The changes come after Mazda dropped the BT-50 in New Zealand and then South Africa. Mazda Australia says it remains committed to the ute locally. 2024 Mazda BT-50 4x4 dual cab pick-up pricingFor full pricing visit our Mazda BT-50 price and specs page.

We’ve become desensitised to ubiquitous ‘Made in China’ stickers on all manner of household products but there’s something about a whole car that incites extra scrutiny.

Mazda’s global financial results have been published along with the brand’s future plans, and they’ve revealed two things quite pertinent to Australia. Not only will there be a next-gen Mazda CX-5, but it’ll also be a hybrid.

Mazda announced its financial results this week as the brand came to the end of its fiscal year and, as far as profits go, the outlook is excellent. The Hiroshima-based brand’s record operating profit finished at ¥250.5 billion (A$2.45 billion) in the 12-month reporting period, up a whopping 76 per cent from the year prior. Much of this is down to the brand’s new premium models, including the CX-60 and CX-90, with higher prices and margins driving up Mazda’s bottom line despite the vehicles not troubling existing CX-3, CX-5 and CX-30 as best sellers in many markets.According to Mazda’s figures as reported by AutoNews, the new Large Platform models contributed ¥125.2 billion (A$1.2 billion) to the coffers – that’s 48.5 per cent. Much of this growth can be attributed to the United States, where Mazda’s gamble on new large SUVs with combustion engines and plug-in hybrid rather than battery electric tech looks to be paying off. Sales in April were at 31,125 in the US which, although 3.8 per cent down on last April, keeps Mazda ahead 8.7 per cent year-to-date. With 3694 CX-90s finding homes in the United States, the three-row SUV accounted for a solid 11.9 per cent chunk of sales. Behind stalwarts such as the CX-5 (11,149) and CX-30 (7640) but impressive for a large luxury vehicle. The story is different in Australia, even though Mazda’s local arm has put its hand up for the full quartet of Large Platform products – including CX-70 and CX-80 – the proof has not arrived in sales form yet. In April, Australians took delivery of 65 CX-90s and 230 CX-60s. We are a smaller market for Mazda with 7301 total sales for the month but the proportion of Mazda’s expensive new SUVs is far less favourable, accounting for 4.0 per cent of total sales. Mazda buyers continue to vote for the CX-5 (1629) and CX-3 (1416) with their wallets in Australia.Adding to Mazda’s global profits is a favourable exchange rate with the US, the yen having lost 14 per cent of its value against the US dollar. Despite relatively small demand in its home market (Mazda sales in Japan were down 31 per cent in March) and with no electric vehicles for sale in Australia, Mazda’s gamble on the premium platform looks to be paying off in revenue at head office.

Truly compact cars are becoming a rarity in modern motoring and it’s a terrible shame, in my humble opinion.

Mazda has revealed a pair of concepts at the 2024 Beijing Motor Show including a Mazda 6 replacement that's unlikely for Australian release.

Some owners of the current generation Isuzu D-Max ute and MU-X SUV, as well as the closely-related Mazda BT-50, are reporting on-going issues with accelerated front tyre wear they say is caused by a fundamental steering geometry flaw.

Mazda is continuing its push into the large premium SUV space with the release of the six- or seven-seat CX-80, scheduled for local launch before the end of this year and effectively replacing the CX-8.

Some carmakers have some very conspicuous gaps in their product portfolios. There’s no rhyme or reason why, and no consistency across brands. Just the glaring holes that would surely make their lives – and not to mention their associated dealers – happier if filled with the right models. Here are the main offenders.

Mazda produced one of the hits of the 2023 Tokyo motor show with the Iconic SP concept car.Now, reports out of Japan suggest the wildly styled MX-5/RX-7 concept could become a reality sooner rather than later.Insiders suggest a production ready car could appear as soon as 2026 and usher in a new era of rotary-powered Mazda sports cars.Mazda has long teased fans about the return of its vaunted rotary engine but the Iconic SP does things a little differently.The sleek coupe could use a twin-rotor rotary engine as a generator to feed a battery that power a pair of electric motors driving the rear wheels.Nissan uses a similar concept with its Qashqai and X-Trail e-Power hybrids that use a small turbocharged petrol engine that juices up a battery with propulsion left solely to an electric motor.This rotary hybrid tech is an evolution of what is found in the MX-30 R-EV sold overseas, which uses a tiny petrol engine to charge a circa-18kWh battery matched to a 125kW electric motor.The Iconic SP concept’s electric motors would produce 270kW, which is about double that of an MX-5.Mazda said the concept weighs about 1500kg, which is significantly more than an MX-5 but would make it a lightweight in the electric car field.Mazda claims the Iconic SP would run on synthetic fuels to make it carbon neutral.The Japanese brand’s boss Masahiro Moro said at the car’s reveal that it would be more practical than a conventional sports car.He said drivers wouldn’t have to worry about range and it would be just as capable on the track as during the daily commute or shopping run.It has the added benefit of a vehicle-to-load function that allows it to power regular household appliances.