Mazda is not the first brand on anyone’s mind when it comes to pick-up trucks, but they have offered the ‘BT-50’ pick-up since 2006. In fact, their experience with pick-ups actually goes all the way to the beginning of the company. Their first vehicles were 3-wheeled mini pick-up trucks like the Mazda-Go and the Mazda K360. Historically, this evolved into the B-series trucks which today exists as the BT-50, which shares its platform with the Ford Ranger. But with the alliance between Ford and Mazda over, Mazda have turned to Isuzu to create the successor to the BT-50 based on the all-new D-Max.
The portal Caradvice recently showed renders of what that may look like and hinted that the new Mazda pick-up truck may be introduced as early as the end of 2020. However, given the current market conditions, we’re not sure if this date will be revised.
The new Isuzu D-Max upon which the BT-50 will be based is not sold in Malaysia yet. It was introduced in Thailand just before the facelift of the previous generation D-Max came to Malaysia. It has been suggested that there won’t be many mechanical changes under the hood, but no one can say for sure if the 1.9L or 3.0L engine will be available on the new BT-50.
The fundamentals of the new D-Max will not be tampered with, even the infotainment system will have a more Isuzu flavour to it. However, Mazda has decided to give the sheetmetal and front end their own spin. Meaning it will be easy to tell the new D-Max apart from the upcoming BT-50, despite being identical under the skin. Mazda have already proven adept at this, with the current BT-50 having its own distinctive style compared to the Ford Ranger.
That being said, it’s unclear how smooth this transition from working with Ford to working with Isuzu will be. Mazda have been working with Ford on pick-up trucks for a LONG time. Nearly 50 years in fact – and they even co-owned the factory that builds their pick-ups in Thailand. Isuzu haven’t built a dedicated passenger car in a long time, and may not have the same mindset as Mazda when designing a truck. But we’re still excited to see what this new partnership will produce.
