HiLux base for next Mazda BT-50?

Toyota could partner Mazda for the design and engineering of the next BT-50 pick-up, although a senior spokesman for the manufacturer says no decision has been made yet.

Interviewed at the Tokyo motor show by Australian journalists last week, Yuji Nakamine advised that Mazda and Toyota were currently in talks to map out the agreement forged between the two companies for the development of new technology and products for the two brands.

"At this moment... we have been discussing with Toyota about which area we should collaborate – and we are still in the process of discussing or identifying those areas. Maybe next year I think we will make some announcement regarding the scope of the relationship with Toyota. This will be centred around maybe the technology and product...." said Nakamine-san, the head of Mazda operations throughout Europe, Asia, Oceania, the Middle East and Africa.

The Mazda chief would not be drawn on the subject of the BT-50 and where any decision to develop the next model jointly with Toyota would leave Ford Australia, the CoE for the T6 project that spawned both the Ranger and the current BT-50.

"We are not sure... we have been discussing this... I cannot make any comment on this," he said.

Among the points to consider in any speculation about HiLux and BT-50 moving to a common platform is the life-cycle timing. The BT-50 is around the mid point of its current life cycle, whereas the HiLux recently launched here is all new. That may be of little or no consequence, but if Mazda aims for an all-new BT-50 to coincide with a mid-life refresh of the HiLux, that development work is probably already under way – which would conflict with Nakamine's assertions that nothing has been decided yet.

Earlier this year, Toyota and Mazda announced their agreement to work together on future products, but at the time, Toyota was clear it was primarily interested in Mazda's SKYACTIV technology. That suggests that products like HiLux and BT-50 will remain separate lines of development. There's no SKYACTIV technology in the current generation of BT-50 – and nor is the fuel-saving technology anticipated to make its debut in the light commercial vehicle for the foreseeable future, says Nakamine-san.

"SKYACTIV technology is the technology for passenger cars," he said.

Even before this year's announcement, Mazda was known to be building a Toyota model based on the Mazda2, and nearly four years ago Mazda was already working with Toyota on hybrid-drive technology.

Mazda's future plans for BT-50 are unclear, but one thing is certain, says Nakamine-san, there won't be a seven-seat SUV derived from the BT-50. According to the executive, over time Mazda Australia's focus has shifted from commercially-oriented single-cab pick-ups to "leisure-oriented" 4x4 dual-cab variants, reflecting a broader change sweeping through the market. That, however, is as far as Mazda will go in targeting family and recreational buyers. Ford has produced the Everest from the Ranger, its counterpart to the BT-50. Toyota has just introduced its HiLux-based Fortuner and Mitsubishi's Challenger – built on a Triton chassis – has just been renamed Pajero Sport to capitalise on the highly regarded image of the larger Pajero SUV. But Mazda won't go there.

"It's a bit tough, and I know that Ford has a derivative based on the pick-up truck platform. But at this moment, Mazda is not going to do that kind of derivative model, based on a pick-up truck platform. Rather than doing that I think we want to focus on CX-3, CX-5 and CX-9. Still there is a huge opportunity in those segments," said Nakamine.