Buyer retention key for Mazda BT-50

MAZDA BT-50 buyers tend to stick with the brand they know when it comes time to buy a ute and prefer some traditional passenger car creature comforts to come along with it.

Asked why BT-50 buyers choose Mazda’s ute over the myriad options in the stacked segment, including the closely-related D-Max, Mazda Australia’s Marketing Director, Alastair Doak, explained: “The brand is a big part of it and related life stage as well, they’ve had a life with Mazda.”

“At one point, I think, if you had a BT-50, you were more likely than any other car to have a second Mazda in the household, to it speaks to that and is obviously important.

“Beyond that obviously the car needs to be fit for purpose, towing performance, fuel economy, whatever it is that you need, 20,000km service intervals, there’s a whole bunch of different things in there.

Mazda currently sits fifth in the 4x4 Dual Cab segment in 2024, its 9230 sales well behind the Ford Ranger (44,559), Toyota Hilux (36,501) and Isuzu D-Max (18,349), but in close touch with the Mitsubishi Triton (10,847) and Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series (9256).

However, add in 2384 4x2 sales and the D-Max lifts to fourth place, a spot the company is entirely comfortable with, according to Managing Director Vinesh Bhindi. “We have an objective and this update takes us (the) next step.

“What others are planning to do, that’s their business – some of them are ute business only. We have got a wide portfolio, we are very happy with what we’ve been able to achieve in the last four years of this generation of the BT-50 and the next one we think should give us a little bit more, but we’re not going to become the ute company."

Over the past decade BT-50 sales have fluctuated slightly in line with its overall sales tally, so that its percentage of the total business has remained relatively steady between 11.2 per cent (2020) and 12.96 per cent (2014).

However, the latest generation model has played a greater role in Mazda’s fortunes. Since its introduction in late-2020, it’s made up 15.49 per cent (2021), 13.52 per cent (2022), 17.52 per cent (2023) and 15.8 per cent (2024 YTD) of the total sales figures.

Despite its relatively strong 4x2 business (it has 11.7 per cent of the market compared to 5.9 per cent of 4x4), Doak said Mazda’s 4x4 ute customers tend to gravitate towards higher-spec variants, something he expects to continue with the newly facelifted model that will arrive in Q1 2025.

Mazda buyers are still using the BT-50 as a workhorse, though, the brand this year introducing the GT Cab Chassis variant in response to customer demand, pairing the high-spec cabin with the added flexibility of a steel or alloy tray.