Mazda electrifies lineup, but BT-50 won't miss an opportunity
Mazda will electrify all of its own models, but the new Isuzu-built BT-50 will skip that. Image: Current generation BT-50.
Mazda's announcement at the Tokyo Motor Show that by 2030 it will apply some version of its e-Skyactiv electric drive technology to every model it launches was carefully worded because it left the company wiggle room around the all-important BT- fifty. Ute.
A spokesman for Mazda senior executive Ichiro Hirose noted that there is a clear distinction between all the cars the company "makes" and all the cars it sells.
“We have stated that by 2030 we will have some form of electrification in all of our products – both pure electric vehicles and combustion engine vehicles – and this will include a mild hybrid, a plug-in hybrid and a rotary stock extender. move that we are currently running,” he said.
“This was not a commitment for products supplied by other OEMs, which is why the BT-50 is excluded from e-Skyactiv's plans. We're just talking about products that are developed internally."
By contrast, Toyota at the same time announced its plans to introduce the HiLux hybrid pickup truck, although not until four years later.
The BT-50, of course, was most recently a joint venture with Ford - it's essentially a redesign of the Ranger - but the next Mazda ute will have a new Japanese platform and a fresh look provided by Isuzu in the form of its next D-max.
While the company will start from a different base with Isuzu styling, you can bet it will work hard on styling tweaks to make it look different, applying its own grille and LED headlights, and adding just as many of its famous, and very successful, Kodo design language as it can.
We asked Mazda chief designer Ikuo Maeda how difficult it was to make a large pickup truck look good, especially one provided by another automaker.
“Of course, we are working on the design of the pickup and trying to make it attractive,” he said.
“In fact, in Kodo design language, we feel strong and tough, and so we don't have to do a completely different design to make the BT-50 look tough, because we can just accentuate that look. power from the Kodo language.
As to how different the Mazda ute would be from the Isuzu, Mr. Maeda was reluctant to speak and dismissed the question to Mazda Australia Managing Director Vinesh Bhindi.
“You will see the same level of differentiation as between the BT-50 and the Ranger; differentiation up to the same amount, but even a little more,” he said.
While electrification won't be part of the BT-50 platform, you can bet Mazda is trying to bring a hybrid competitor to the hugely successful Toyota RAV4 Hybrid to market.
In response to this question, Mr. Hirose declined to talk about future plans, saying only that the company is "thinking about an approach" to solving Toyota's problem in this area.
