The Mazda BT-50 Thread

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While it looks decent, reviews all say I'd rather want a Mitsubishi Triton.
 
MAZDA SA BOSS ON WHY BT-50 BAKKIE HAS STRUGGLED

Mazda South Africa’s new managing director has revealed why he believes the BT-50 has struggled to gain traction in the local bakkie segment.

Speaking to CARmag.co.za at the recent launch of the new CX-5, Mazda SA MD Craig Roberts explained that while the local arm of the Japanese automaker had no intention of trying to match the sort of sales achieved by the segment leaders (think Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger), the company was “working hard” on increasing BT-50 volumes.

Naamsa statistics show that Mazda SA sold 62 units of the BT-50 in February – the month in which the facelifted version of the bakkie was launched – some 35 units in March and just 19 units in April.

In 2016, Mazda SA reported 661 registrations of the pre-facelift, second-generation model, compared to a whopping 32 428 units achieved by the Ford Ranger, on which the BT-50 is based. So, why has the Ranger outperformed the BT-50 by such a wide margin?

“I think there are a number of reasons and obviously we’ve studied it very closely. We’re working really hard on establishing what we can do to get those volumes up,” Roberts told CARmag.co.za.

“I think, importantly, we don’t have the same volume aspirations as a Ranger or a Hilux; we have no pretensions to that. We’re also not looking to play in that ‘commercial space’; we are primarily targeting the private buyer, which is the reason we’ve brought in the double-cab only to start with,” he explained.

“I think that the whole segment is very, very tough – very, very dominated at the moment – and it’s difficult to get traction.”

However, Roberts added that supply issues had also played a significant role in the facelifted BT-50’s slow start, particularly since the updated model is sourced from Thailand rather than built in South Africa.

“I have to be honest and say that we didn’t expect it [the facelifted model] to have as tough a re-entry to the market. But, in saying that, there’s also the fact that we didn’t have BT-50 in any sorts of numbers, with any sort of consistency of supply, for probably eight months while we transitioned from the locally built to the Thailand-built model,” he told us.

“It’s a fact that we weren’t out there in the domain, so we weren’t even on consideration lists for that period. And we also had a dealer network that basically didn’t have it to sell, and it wasn’t a focus for them. All those factors are taking a little long to be remedied. And, again, we don’t have huge volume aspirations for BT-50,” Roberts emphasised.

In July 2016, Mazda and Isuzu announced a “basic agreement” to collaborate on the development and production of their respective next-generation bakkies. Essentially, this means that Isuzu will produce the next-generation BT-50 for Mazda, basing it on the next-generation KB. Does Roberts expect this new model – which is still a few years away – to warrant a change in strategy locally?

“I think our aspirations would probably have to be realigned very slightly in terms of what the target market would be, and it would take some serious market research and a sound business decision as to whether we went and re-entered into that more commercial space,” he told us.

“But I don’t foresee us going down that road; we have as an overall strategy the private buyer [in mind]. And I think that the segment is dominated by large fleet purchases, where the need for a commercial workhorse exists. So I don’t think that the strategy will change much with the next BT-50,” Roberts concluded.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/mazda-sa-boss-on-why-bt-50-bakkie-has-struggled/
 
Local BT-50 models have a crappy non-colour Sync 1-based infotainment system while Australia markets get a decidedly better 7" ts unit.
 
MAZDA SAYS NEXT BT-50 WILL BE ‘BEAUTIFUL’ BUT ‘MANLY’…

Mazda’s global design director, Ikuo Maeda, has promised that the next BT-50 bakkie will take on a “beautiful form”, albeit with a “tougher element”.

Speaking to Drive, Ikuo-san admitted that applying the Japanese brand’s latest design language to a bakkie would be a “challenge”.

“We have to focus on creating a beautiful form but adding a tougher element to it to make it more manly,” he told the Australian publication.

While the current BT-50 is based on the Ford Ranger, the next-generation version of Mazda’s bakkie will be developed by Isuzu alongside the next-generation KB after the two Japanese firms reached a basic agreement last year.

Hiroyuki Matsumoto, general manager of vehicle development at Mazda, told Drive that the bulk of the development work would be done by Isuzu.

“We will ask Isuzu to incorporate Mazda’s taste and philosophy, so along those lines Isuzu is going to do the settings and tunings of the suspension to meet our philosophy,” Hiroyuki-san said.

“We will consign development to Isuzu. However, our Mazda engineers are also involved, for example test driving the vehicle with Isuzu. Designing, engineering and production – these activities are consigned to Isuzu,” he explained.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/mazda-says-next-bt-50-will-be-beautiful-but-manly/
 
Mazda Says Next-Gen BT-50 Will Ditch Its ‘Smiley Face’

A Mazda executive has confirmed that the next-generation version of the Japanese brand’s BT-50 bakkie will be more assertive in its styling and lose its so-called “smile”.

“We gave up the smile; it won’t be coming back,” Julien Montousse, Mazda North America design director, told motoring.com.au.

“We want front face vehicles that are more assertive and therefore even if it’s a pick-up we’re not going to remain with a big smiley front face,” he added.

The comments come after Mazda’s global design director, Ikuo Maeda, last month promised that the next BT-50 would take on a “beautiful form”, albeit with a “tougher element”.

While the current BT-50 is based on the Ford Ranger, the next-generation version of Mazda’s bakkie will be developed by Isuzu alongside the KB after the two Japanese firms reached a basic agreement last year.

Mazda Australia managing director Vinesh Bhindi told the Australian publication that the new BT-50 was still in the “early days of development”, adding that it would most likely arrive “post-2020”.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/mazda-says-next-gen-bt-50-will-ditch-its-smiley-face/

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Mazda BT-50 bakkie handed (Australia-only) facelift…

The Mazda BT-50 bakkie has been given a bit of a facelift, but it interestingly applies only to the Australian market.

Billed as “major front-end design changes”, the styling update includes a new (boxier) front bumper, fresh grille and larger fog-lamp surrounds, which Mazda says results in a “stronger road stance”.

Created exclusively for the Australian market, Mazda says the facelift’s “engineering and development process took 18 months, with the vehicle undergoing rigorous testing”. According to drive.com.au, Queensland-based aftermarket supplier EGR will produce and fit the BT-50’s fresh face.

“It’s not a case of the old model looking ugly; [just that] we needed a fresh face,” said Alastair Doak, Mazda Australia marketing director, according to the publication.

“Our bosses in Japan are very happy with it and it’s a case of how we keep the current [bakkie] as fresh as possible, and this is the result,” he added.

The styling changes are accompanied by standard equipment upgrades across the Australian range, including the introduction of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Of course, the BT-50 shares much with the Ford Ranger, although it’s far off the sales pace of its Blue Oval cousin, both in Australia and here in South Africa.

The next-generation version of Mazda’s bakkie will be developed by Isuzu alongside the new KB after the two Japanese firms reached a basic agreement in 2016. And Mazda promises that it will be more assertive in its styling, with the new BT-50 set to lose its so-called “smile”.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news/mazda-bt-50-bakkie-handed-australia-facelift/

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