Mazda New Zealand has confirmed the BT-50 is being retired from the local market this year once the final shipments currently arriving in the country have been sold.
The decision to axe the BT-50 reflects both slow sales last year of 347 units which was less than 6% of the brand’s overall volume as well as the impact of the Clean Car Standard.
Whilst the BT-50 name arrived in 2006 with a facelift to the Mazda Bounty ute, the first new-generation Mazda BT-50 arrived in 2011 in single cab, freestyle cab, and double cab variants. More recently, the current third generation of the BT-50, available only in double cab configuration, was launched in 2020.
Fully developed by Isuzu Motor Limited and supplied to Mazda on an OEM basis, the current BT-50 will remain on sale in markets such as Australia, Thailand, Central and South America, the Middle East and Africa.
“The conclusion of the BT-50 is certainly the end of an era for Mazda in New Zealand,” Mazda Motors New Zealand managing director David Hodge says.
“It is a model that has served the country well, over many years.
“Undeniably the market has changed significantly over the past few years: the move towards SUVs, a greater uptake of electrified vehicles, and most recently the Clean Car Programme have all influenced consumer tastes,” he says.
As the brand locally redefines its future product range, the focus is on upcoming new models and electrification as part of Mazda’s multi-solution approach which aims to reduce CO2 emissions across the business as well as offering appropriate powertrains in consideration of each market’s local conditions.
“Last year we welcomed new-generation, Large Platform products to the market with CX-60 and CX-90, and this year we look forward to seeing the first-ever Mazda CX-80 join the range,” Hodge says.
“Additional updates to the CX-30 small SUV and CX-5 medium SUV, along with our ever-popular MX-5, see the range strengthened even further.
The local history of Mazda utility vehicles started in 1966 when the first Mazda B1500 units were imported. Then local assembly started shortly after, continuing through several generations of Mazda B Series utility until 1997. From then all B Series, Bounty and BT-50 models have been imported.
