Max score for Mazda sister ship

What’s good for the D-Max is good for the BT-50, our crash testing agency decides.

DIFFERENT badges, same basic engineering, technology and design – and it’s paid off for Mazda’s twin to the Isuzu D-Max in crash testing. 

A month after determining Isuzu’s soon-to-release new one tonne ute was worthy of a maximum five star score from a crash test that became tougher this year, the national crash testing agency has decided the BT-50 that is a co-development of that model should achieve the same score. 

Surprised? Well, there’s potential you might be because, even though the sister utes are both on the top rung, it’s questionable the Mazda can claim utter category-first equality.

Mazda’s ute scores just slightly lower for impacts regarding pedestrians and cyclists in the vulnerable road user criteria due to the different nose design.

That in itself might seem an interesting outcome as, when it came to assessing the Mazda, the New Zealand Government-funded and NZ Automobile Association-supported Australasian New Car Assessment Programme didn’t put one into the wall, as occurred with the D-Max. 

Rather, the outcomes determined for the Mazda accrue from the agency extrapolating results from the D-Max test and also giving consideration to technical data provided by Mazda.

All this means the BT-50 carries the exact same ratings for adult occupant protection (83 percent), child occupant protection (89 percent), and safety assist (81 percent).

The safety system on the Mazda, like the Isuzu, consists of a comprehensive suite of tech such as AEB, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning with steering assist, blind spot monitoring and advanced speed assist, and many others. 

ANCAP’s rating applies for all BT-50 models.

Isuzu will have a head start on leveraging the score, with the D-Max expected to be on sale within the fortnight; timing which gives it around four week’s head start over the Mazda, this to honour an international agreement between the makes that gives Isuzu first dibs on strength that the ute is their basic design and comes from their factory.

31,000 fewer registrations in 2020 predicted

Mazda NZ’s boss disagrees with some recent assessments but also holds belief that the new vehicle market is in a rough ride.

david Hodge: Mazda is in good shape to weather tough conditions.

 NEW passenger and commercial vehicle sales in 2020 will likely be down 20 percent over last year, a drop of almost 31,000 registrations. 

 This assessment is from Mazda New Zealand’s boss, who holds that crunch time is coming.

If David Hodge’s prediction for this degree of calendar year-on-year decline is realised, it will represent the biggest drop since 2009, when new car sales plummeted 28 percent as the local economy tanked amid the global financial crisis.

Last year’s accrual of 154,479 new passenger and light commercial vehicles was already a decline, being 4.3 percent off the 2018 tally.

Regardless that the last three months has seemed rosy for registrations, the market year to date was down 24 percent at the end of August, Hodge notes.

It will remain tough though he also contends his own brand is in good shape, all things considered, to weather what’s ahead.

For one, he says, his make has steered clear of an emerging national stock shortage scenario of concern to the distributors’ representative body, the Motor Industry Association. 

In respect to the surge in registrations over the past three months that has hastened the depletion of the national new vehicle stock pile to apparent verge of exhaustion, Hodge reminds that some of this is down to orders from April and May – when the industry was frozen by the national lockdown - coming to fruition.

The BT-50 is Mazda’s next new model here and is considered a crucial vehicle.

He respects the MIA’s reasons for offering a view about the increasingly parlous state of stock availability, and doesn’t absolutely question the accuracy of figures being bandied, but says it isn’t representative of his own brand’s status.

According to the association, new vehicle distributors normally carry up to 100 days’ stock for vehicles and large parts, but this has reduced by around 50 percent, to just over 11,000 units – the lowest in at least eight years and half the tally held in April. The situation for commercial models is said to be worse, that stockpile have quartered to under 5000 vehicles by the end of last month.

“Maybe 100 days is right as an industry average, but it’s not our situation. We have a shorter pipeline (for stock) against, for instance, the European brands.

“We are comfortable with our stock levels. We are lean, yes, but our stock pipeline is full, absolutely chocka.

“We have no problem at all with the number of vehicles coming to us.”

He wondered if Mazda had advantage over many other makes, or at least those unable to source from Japan, where production was virtually back to normal, or as close as it could be with working conditions being adjusted for coronavirus safety measures.

Mazda NZ takes cars from two plants in Japan and the BT-50 is from Thailand.

“Our plants are as close to 100 percent as is possible. The Japanese plants lost a shift the other day because of a typhoon, but other than that they are at full shifts.”

Hodge says Mazda production been relatively unaffected by coronavirus so the supply pipeline is full.

The commercial sector is now of high interest to Mazda NZ, as it plans a November release for the new-generation BT-50, by and large a doppelganger for the Isuzu D-Max that goes on sale on October. 

That model comes from the Isuzu plant in Thailand where, Hodge says, the impact of Covid-19 has not been huge. Also, the local workforce was in good readiness.

“They are accustomed to wearing masks, so that wasn’t unnatural for them, and they (Thai people) are not hand-shakers, so there’s another factor that probably makes them safer.

“I think the Thai plant did shut down for a while but that was demand-driven, not health-driven.” 

Hodge says the country going into lockdown in April was a stress for the motor industry and enforced that the car business at distributor level was essentially a “big money go round, money in, money out. 

The ‘money’ in suddenly curtailed “and it was a hard stop. But the money out kept happening as we still had a pipeline of cars and a commitment to the plant for vehicles we ordered and had to pay for.

“It was an issue of liquidity and we worked hard with local banks here. We had strong backing relationships and that’s what saw us through that initial shock.” 

After that, it was a waiting game. “We carried on work from home and though we didn’t sell anything we had a launch (the CX-30) at that time.” It also maintained a parts supply, initially to emergency services but gradually to the general public as shutdown conditions eased.

“Once we got out of Level Three, then to Level Two it was rally business as usual and when we got to One it was ‘yay, everything is back to the way it was.’

“But during April and mos of May the industry basically stopped. It didn’t go in a decline or anything, it was a hard stop. Same for the entire economy.” 

The tourism, aviation and hospitality sectors had a “bloody good stomp” and were still quite sore, still, he suggested, “but the rst of the economy basically has largely carried on.” 

The apparent rush in new vehicle sales in June, July and August was more perceived that actual, he suggested. The April and May activity also had influence.

“A lot of the sales in June, July and August were people who were going to buy in April and May. That has just helped top up those months.” 

Sky’s the limit for innovative powertrain

As NZ introduction nears, it’s timely to remind what a breakthrough this tech potentially represents.

Mazda is now hinting the SkyActiv-X tech won’t restrict to the 2.0-litre engine likely to provision to NZ drivers soon.

“IT is a combustion technology – and that combustion can work on any size of engine, so it doesn’t need to be a 2.0-litre; it can be in other things…”

As New Zealand ramps up to receive our first Mazda vehicles with the brand’s SkyActiv-X engine technology, this comment from the marque’s marketing director in Australia is a good reminder about the full potential of the world’s first production-ready petrol that uses compression ignition.

For now, two models off a common platform have adopted what Hiroshima formally calls it’s SPCCI – for spark plug controlled compression ignition – tech: The Mazda3 and the CX-30 crossover.

Those cars run together in every market where SkyActiv-X places; including in Australia, though there the introductions are staged. The road car first, from this month, and the CX-30 following in September.

Will that double act also provision in New Zealand? All odds favour that outcome, but the local distributor isn’t yet ready to make an announcement. Media have been notified of a conference dedicated to SkyActiv discussion will occur in four weeks’ time.

Anyway, when Mazda Australia staged its press introduction to the cars last week, marketing head Alistair Doak made a good point by reminding that simply because SPCCI – and the mild hybrid involvement it also delivers (more on this in a bit) dubbed Mazda M Hybrid - only packages for now in a 2.0-litre four cylinder form doesn’t mean it cannot reach into other displacements or cylinder counts in the future.

compact crossovers and SUVs are on a sales roll, so a SkyActiv-X provision in the well-received CX-30 is a logical enhancement.

Doak provided the comment that introduces this story as a response to being asked whether the new 2.0-litre four-cylinder could power a vehicle as large as the Mazda CX-9, as an example.

He went on to suggest hinted that Mazda might choose to upscale SkyActiv-X to an engine of larger displacement. But equally true, he suggested, there was no reason the maker couldn’t develop a smaller engine employing the same process.

Which means? Sorry, Doak – doubtless because he is a former motoring writer – was too canny to fall into letting out any secrets in respect to future rollouts.

However, he hinted that the option likely won’t remain the preserve of flagship models in the Mazda3 and CX-30 ranges for long.

Currently, he said, there were no plans to expand SkyActiv-X in other models, “but it’s certainly available to us in Mazda3 and CX-30. It’s available in Europe in those models, across all grades… or most grades…

“So there is that availability… should the desire from customers be there. But ultimately, it’s up to us, from a marketing and brand point of view to tell the story, and explain what SkyActiv is,” he explained. 

“If people like that story, and are curious, then hopefully they’ll come and test-drive, and hopefully they’ll buy.

“If the demand is there, then absolutely, we’ll meet that demand. But we haven’t started yet, so it’s very much a hypothetical at this point.”

SkyActiv-X is certainly a new chapter, in that it marks the start of Mazda’s corporate goal to reduce ‘well-to-wheel’ emissions by 50 percent from 2010 to 2030.

It has been in production since last August, and was first revealed to the world in 2018, so you might wonder why it has taken so long to get here.

reduced emissions are a strong plus point with SPCCI.

Coronavirus likely hasn’t been much help but even before that global calamity Mazda had determined to focus first on servicing western Europe, for simple reason that countries there encourage low CO2 engines. The Mazda3 hits that button, if not quite as effectively as a hybrid, with a claimed emission of 127 grams per kilometre. 

Sure enough, the make has seen a brisk take-up of the technology in those initial target markets, to the point where the acceptance rate has been much higher than it anticipated.

"Since we launched the engine, we are seeing a very encouraging feedback: 60 percent of the orders for the Mazda3 are currently for cars equipped with the Skyactiv-X engine, as well as 45 percent of orders for the Mazda CX-30 crossover," Mazda Europe CEO Yasuhiro Aoyama said last August. That rate has not decreased since then and the demand has stretched Mazda’s capabilities.

Still, it seems to have now found ability to service our part of the world. Our neighbour reckons it can achieve good supply of the Mazda3, which it takes in manual and automatic formats, and the CX-30, which it will achieve purely in auto. NZ might be even more selective and take just the auto.

SPCCI’s potential to deliver will be eagerly monitored. For one, everyone will be keen to establish the value aspect; a focus that becomes important because this is a premium priced engine, more expensive than the ‘regular’ four cylinders that provision in the two models in 2.0-litre and 2.5-litre formats.

In our neighbour’s case the SkyActiv-X models cost $NZ3300 more than the priciest 2.5s. It’s expected Mazda NZ will do as other markets have and package the powertrain into its plushest trim level, which in this market is called Takami. That’ll be a new fit out for the CX-30, where the current trim line tops with a Limited provision.

As said, SkyActiv-X uses compression ignition typical of a diesel, but with a petrol engine which the brand says helps blend the high-revving character of a petrol engine with the fuel efficiency and torque of an oiler. 

Capable of both spark ignition and compression ignition, the engine can utilise the two types of combustion while operating in tandem.

To further maximise fuel efficiency, the engine features an integrated, belt-driven starter generator and 24-volt lithium-ion battery which assists the engine and recoups lost energy during deceleration. 

The addition qualifies this to be considered the first hybrid offering in Mazda’s local line-up. Next year, of course, it seems set to deliver its first electric car, with the MX-30.

As explained in previous stories, the attraction of SkyActiv-X is that it presents an intriguing ‘cake and eat it’ proposal – decent pep and yet also potential to deliver very good parsimony.

European numbers show the new 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine will generate 132kW and 224Nm of torque, while fuel economy of 4.3 litres per 100km from the manual is getting close to Toyota Prius levels of efficiency. Be aware that this figure is the result of Mazda using the NEDC testing regime, a format that has now been largely shelved on grounds it’s results are difficult to achieve in everyday driving. Using the now preferred 'real world' (WLTP) fuel economy formula, the claimed consumption is 5.4L/100km.

Still, that thrift and the power outputs place it above the existing 114kW/200Nm 2.0-litre unit and, while the 2.5-litre engine has more punch, with 139kW/252Nm, it also achieves it by using more fuel, 6.6 litres per 100km in an automatic Mazda3 on the test cycle.

Mazda BT-50 goes Kodo … and less kooky

Ready to fall in love with your ute? The new BT-50 is all about forming strong bonds, Mazda says.

NOT just begat with Isuzu but set to be built by it as well.

That’s one of the interesting factoids emerging from today’s international unveiling the new Mazda BT-50 one-tonne ute, which is set to go on sale in New Zealand before the end of the year. Potentially following very closely in the tyre tracks of its new twin, the Isuzu D-Max.

A media release discussing the model makes clear that this fresh and design, a total divorce from the Ford Ranger-derived current model that has been here for nine years, appears set to roll off the same assembly line in Thailand that has been producing the latest D-Max since late last year, albeit only for sale to Thai buyers.

The process appears identified by Mazda commenting that “the all-new BT-50 is supplied by Isuzu Motor Limited on an OEM basis.” OEM, of course, is shorthand for ‘original equipment manufacturer.’

That gives it a subtly different status to the current model, which came out a joint venture plant. However, Mazda’ determination to separate from Ford made that relationship impossible; all the moreso now that the Blue Oval has shacked up with a new partner, Volkswagen, and will have the lead role in producing the next Ranger and its Amarok equivalent.

Isuzu having lead development of the ladder-frame chassis and the drivetrain for both, with Mazda focusing on its specific requirements and design, with both being all but identical under their skins is reinforced by the images and technical detail released today.

The 3.0-litre turbodiesel engine makes the same 140kW and 450Nm in either application. Likewise, both brands’ offers have a 1065kg payload and are rated to haul 3.5 tonnes.

here’s the twin … the new Isuzu d-max.

Unsurprisingly the doublecab formats that are arriving first have the same 3125mm wheelbase, but Mazda’s body is slightly longer – at 5280mm versus 5265mm – though both are equal in width, at 1870mm, and height (1790mm).

The Mazda and Isuzu cabin shapes are shared yet the nose and tail stylings are patently different. While Mazda has again incorporated a visual identity that relates to its cars’ ‘Kodo’ design ethos, the impact of that appears set to far less controversial; mainly because the sharp nosed look that arguably blighted the second-gen model has been retired. Now BT-50 is back to where it began, conforming to class norms with a bluff frontage.

Mazda NZ managing director Dave Hodge is satisfied with the look, saying it obviously makes it immediately recognisable as part of the Mazda range of vehicles.

He also believes the new model will stand tall for its driving performance, functionality and safety. These factors will ensure the vehicle “will meet the needs of the wide range of situations where our New Zealand customers will be using the ute.”

Mazda says special care went into the vehicle’s design, ease of use and into creating peace of mind for the occupants. It also has enforced an aim to become a brand that can “create strong bonds with customers by focusing on the pure essence of cars — the joy of driving — and committing ourselves to preserve our beautiful earth, enrich people’s lives and make a bountiful society that lifts everybody’s spirits.”

First look: BT-50 noses into view

A more conformist nose treatment suggests we’re in for a sharper-looking BT-50.

this all mazda wants to show us of the new bt-50 … for now.

‘SOMETHING huge is on the horizon … 

So goes the wording accompanying a official image out of Mazda of the next-generation BT-50, a shadowy teaser released ahead of the all-new ute’s global reveal at 1pm NZST next Wednesday.

What can we make of the side profile shot? Quite a lot, really. The 2020 model is, of course, now spun from the upcoming Isuzu D-MAX, which has already been fully revealed. On the strength of this single image, it’s clear the next BT-50 not only divorces completely – and thankfully so – from the duck-billed styling of the outgoing vehicle, but it also separates quite distinctly from the new donor.

So when can we see it? Good question that. Actually, it should be ‘them’.

If not for Covid-19, the D-Max would have been first off the rank, the makers’ deal giving Isuzu a sales head start of several months.

The local distributor’s plan was to have a new D-Max at the national Feildays in Hamilton that should have opened next week. All off now, of course.

The giant rural extravaganza has become a digital event for next month and, in any event, the impact of coronavirus on global carmaking has also delayed the utes, which source from Thailand. So, now there’s talk of the D-Max coming in September and then BT-50 … some time after. But before Christmas. 

The teaser image seems to indicates the new BT-50 will emerge first in volume-selling dual-cab four-wheel-drive ute form, with single-cab and extra-cab versions likely to follow.

Fair to assume the ‘something big’ promotional line doesn’t just reference the newcomer’s size, which in doublecab format comes to a length of 5265mm, 1870mm wide and 1790mm height.

The new Isuzu D-Max, which is reportedly delayed, is the basis for the new BT-50. The old one, below, was twinned with the Ford Ranger … under the skin, at least.

Mazda NZ would clearly benefit from achieving a step up in volume as well. It’s been feeling pretty much nothing but pain from the outgoing model, which launched in 2011. Such a cruel blow, given it was a sister ship – under the skin at least – to the Ford Ranger which has been a huge success, the country’s best-selling ute. Not so the BT-50.

The partnership with Isuzu means a new start under the bonnet, with Mazda expected to pick up the D-Max’s 3.0-litre turbodiesel that, in generating 140kW and 450Nm, generates seven kiloWatts less power and 20Nm less torque than the Ford-supplied 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbodiesel in the current model.

Six-speed manual and automatics will be on offer. The four-wheel-drive system will include a two-speed transfer case and a rear locking diff. It also formats in rear-drive.

The Isuzu and Mazda are expected to share include a 3500kg braked towing capacity and 800mm water fording ability. D-Max’s approximate 1890kg kerb weight and a maximum 1024kg payload would also conceivably carry over.

Autonomous emergency braking is set to feature among driver-assist systems and it achieves an infotainment system with 9.0-inch colour touch-screen and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. How much effort Mazda has put into revising the D-Max fascia, pictured, will become clear next week.

The high level trim will deliver leather seat trim, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry/start and a digital speedo.

a big touchscreen is a feature of the new D-Max fascia. Ditto for the mazda?

MX family spans well beyond roadster

A history of Mazda’s MX models reminds that this monicker has attached to more than just the world’s best-selling roadster.

These are the MX models we know best … but the entire family is much, much larger

IN a year that sees Mazda celebrate its centenary, the Japanese firm is also looking to the future with the debut of its first all-electric production vehicle – the Mazda MX-30.

With customer deliveries expected to begin in early 2021, the MX-30 is a unique, stylish and versatile crossover EV; a stand-out addition to the Mazda line-up.

Yet why does it wear the MX moniker? This piece supplied by Mazda takes up the story:

A badge made most famous by the MX-5. Well, a look back through Mazda’s history highlights that the MX name pre-dates the world’s best-selling roadster and in fact has been used more than a dozen times across a broad spread of production, concept and racing Mazdas.

Mazda explains that the MX prefix is given to a car that takes on a challenge to create and deliver new values without being confined by convention regardless of vehicle type.

When it was revealed in 1989 the Mazda MX-5 was exactly this kind of car, as the automotive industry as a whole moved away from the affordable sports car, Mazda defied convention to create a perfect modern reinterpretation of the classic rear-wheel drive roadster.

More than three decades later the MX-5 needs no introduction, but the first car to wear the MX badge is less famous, however there’s no forgetting it once you’ve seen it.

1983 MX-02

1985 MX-05

1987 MX-04

1987 MX-04 ROADSTER

MX-03

MXR-01

Revealed in 1981, the Mazda MX-81 Aria concept car was created by Italian styling house Bertone, who using Mazda 323 running gear created a futuristic wedge-shaped hatchback.

With its gold paint, huge glasshouse and pop-up lights it stood out at the Tokyo Motor Show, but with its recessed square steering wheel, TV screen cockpit and side swinging front seats, it was arguably the interior that was the most radical. A one-off concept that certainly met the defy convention ethos of MX models, it led to a future relationship with Bertone, while things like the high-mounted taillights and pop-up headlamps appeared in future Mazda production cars later in the eighties.

Next in the MX lineage was the 1983 MX-02 concept car, a big flat sided five-door hatch with large windows, aerodynamic rear wheel covers and flared in door mirrors. Unique features included rear wheel steering and a windscreen head-up display.

The one-off theme continued with the 1985 Mazda MX-03, which again was a radical looking concept car, but this time it was a defy convention sports car that was powered by a triple rotor 315ps engine. Conceived purely as a concept, this low-slung coupe, was pure futuristic exuberance, with a cabin that featured an aircraft style yoke rather than a wheel, plus digital displays and a head-up display, its technology tally also including four-wheel steering and all-wheel drive, while the long low body delivered an aerodynamic Cd figure of just 0.25.

While the MX-02 and MX-03 shared some of the same futuristic design cues, the MX-04 was completely different. Revealed at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show, the MX-04 was a front-engine rear-wheel drive sports car chassis that had removable fibreglass panels, but not just one, but two different sets, allowing the car to switch from a glass dome roofed coupe to a beach buggy style open sided roadster. 

Powered by a rotary engine this barmy shape-shifting sports car was never a serious contender for production, but little did outsiders know that Mazda was already developing the MX-5, and just two-years later, the most famous car to wear a MX badge arrived.

And the next cars to wear the MX badge were also production models, both cars built on the MX-5’s success and offered very different coupe styles.

MX-3

MX MICROSPORT

MX SPORT TOURER

MX-5 SPEEDSTER CONCEPT

MX-5 SPYDER CONCEPT

MX-5 SUPERLIGHT CONCEPT

MX CROSS SPORT

Sold from 1992 to 1993, the Mazda MX-3 was a four-seat coupe hatchback that disregarded the convention for normal hatchbacks to offer buyers something far more stylish and sportier, while it further earnt its MX badge by being available with the world’s smallest mass-produced V6 engine. The larger MX-6 coupe conveyed big premium coupe style for family saloon money, but in the 1990s arguably the most radical car to wear the MX badge was the Mazda MXR-01.

After the rotary powered Mazda 787B took victory in the 1991 Le Mans 24 Hours, the FIA promptly banned rotary powered cars, leaving Mazda looking for a new car for the 1992 World Sportscar Championship at very short notice.

A solution arrived in the shape of the incredible Mazda MXR-01 prototype race car. Based on the previous seasons Jaguar XJR-14, the British firms’ withdrawal from sportscar racing, allowed Mazda to adapt this radical Ross Brawn designed prototype and fit a Mazda badged V10 Judd engine. Famed for its incredible grip and downforce, just five examples where built, but sadly the collapse of the World Sportscar Championship at the end of 1992 spelt the end of Mazda’s world level motorsport programme and denied the MXR-01 the chance of success.

Into the 21st century the MX moniker returned to adorn concept cars, all of which stayed true to the MX ethos of delivering something new by challenging convention: the 2001 MX-Sport Tourer concept was a radical MPV concept with freestyle doors and sweeping body design, that highlighted the fact an MPVs did not have to be boxy or dull, something the resulting Mazda5 proved. In fact, the 2004 Mazda MX-Flexa was a concept that was even closer to the final ground-breaking Mazda5 production car, sharing its popular sliding rear doors.

The 2002 MX-Sport Runabout concept previewed the modern look of the second-generation Mazda2, while the 2003 MX-Sportif was the concept that previewed the first generation Mazda3, which was a big step forward from the outgoing Mazda 323.

The MX-MicroSport was a US focused hatchback concept, revealed at the 2004 Detroit Motor Show, but the nineties MX concept that really started Mazda on the road to another success story that set it apart from other brands, was the 2005 MX-Crossport.

Inspired by the Mazda RX-8 sportscar this was a sporty looking SUV concept with sculpted wheel arches, slender headlamps and bold shoulder lines that previewed the Mazda CX-7 - a pivotal car that established the fact that Mazda could build a stylish, sporty SUV with car like dynamics to rival the best SUVs from premium brands. A car that established a lineage of award-winning SUVs that leads to today’s CX-5 and CX-30 - the MX-Crossport sat at the start of this SUV success story.

And now with the arrival of the ground-breaking MX-30, it’s appropriate that the MX name returns to a production model – as Mazda’s first production EV, the MX-30 is a car that represents a new chapter in Mazda’s history.

2021 MX-30 - MAZDA’S ENTRY INTO THE ELECTRIC SCENE