The current-generation Mazda BT-50 ute has been on sale in Australia now for roughly two years, yet the company feels like it hasn’t had the chance to shake its supply issues until now.
Mazda Australia marketing director Alastair Doak told CarExpert that supply of the BT-50 is set to improve from this month onwards, following a stop-sale of certain entry-level models.
“It almost feels like we haven’t had a clean run at it,” said Mr Doak.
“I mean obviously the first year we were just building up and looking to expand the range, and we introduced the 1.9s and things like that.
“And then we’ve had some pretty annoying supply issues… but the good news is that they free up as of this month.
“We’re still going to concentrate initially on the 3.0-litre double-cab, but the [XS and XT single-cab and extended-cab variants] will come back online early next year,” added Mr Doak.
As reported back in August this year, single-cab and extended-cab versions of the BT-50 – only available in XS and XT trim levels – are subject to a temporary stop-sale due to supply constraints.
“As we continue to feel the impacts of the global automotive industry supply constraints, production for certain Mazda BT-50 model grades – XS and XT in Single Cab and Freestyle Cab configuration only – are subject to extended production delays,” said a Mazda Australia spokesperson in August.
“During this time we are working to prioritise existing customer orders, and a limited quantity of stock of these variants remains available in dealerships. We recommend customers contact their local Mazda retailer for more information.”
“Our dealerships will continue to liaise directly with affected customers to update them on timings and availability of their individual orders.”
This means the most affordable BT-50 you can currently buy is the XS 1.9-litre 4×2 dual-cab, which starts at $42,890 before on-road costs. That’s almost $9,000 more than the XS 4×2 single-cab with the same 1.9-litre engine ($33,950) that’s currently not available to order.
This isn’t the first time Mazda has enforced a stop-sale on the BT-50 this year, after orders for the 1.9-litre models were paused in April due to a faulty engine sensor. This condition also affected the related Isuzu D-Max.
The Mazda BT-50 has been posting record sales over the past 12 months, with 15,662 units delivered in 2021 – an all-time record which even exceeded the brand’s own projections.
Until the end of September this year, Mazda has sold a total of 1986 BT-50 4x2s (up 7.6 per cent) and 8018 BT-50 4x4s (up 5.5 per cent).
MORE: Everything Mazda BT-50
