[kach22i]

June 17, 2017
Spied: Mazda BT-50 in California
Spied: Mazda BT-50 in California - PickupTrucks.com News

"With the Ford Ranger on course for U.S. hitting showrooms in just a few years, we were intrigued by two Mazda BT-50 pickups we saw at Mazda's North American headquarters in Irvine, Calif.

"The Mazda BT-50 pickup is mechanically based on Ford's T6 global Ranger; both models have been sold in global markets outside of North America. With Ford now working on the Ranger for American showrooms for the 2019 model year, we're left to wonder if Mazda is evaluating the prospect of piggy-backing on this development to bring the BT-50 to U.S. shores. The synergies make sense; the path has been set by Ford, and now a pair of BT-50 4x4 crew cabs have shown up at Mazda's U.S. headquarters. Consider us intrigued.

"While some of the variants of the BT-50 are built for right-hand-drive markets, both the silver BT-50 Pro 4x4 and the black BT-50 4x4 pictured are left-hand-drive models that would be appropriate for the American market.

"While Mazda has made no public pronouncements about bringing the BT-50 to the U.S., the fact that these pickups are now in the hands of Mazda North America, with a pending U.S. Ranger on the horizon, is certainly curious."