MAZDA’s recent partnership with Toyota could see it use the strong-selling Hilux as the starting point for its next generation BT-50 ute, instead of the Ford Ranger.

The development could end a collaboration of more than 35 years between Mazda and Ford.

While the Ford Ranger was heavily upgraded for 2015, Mazda did not give the BT-50 the same level of upgrades, arguing that low global sales volume could not justify the expense.

“We need to come up to a better solution in the future,” said Mazda Managing Executive Officer, Masahiro Moro. “If we follow the correct path, I think a BT-50 will get adequate updates.”

Mazda -BT-50-In -Snow

“We’ve just established a working team [with Toyota] to discuss an area where we can potentially work together,” Moro said.

“So we don’t have a concrete agenda yet, but this alliance was formed under the clear articulation of working together to make better cars.”

It’s clear that the BT-50 is not as good as Mazda wants it to be, in terms of both sales and its overall strategy of using SkyActiv drivetrains.

Toyota -Hilux -engine -could -appear -in -Mazda

In August, the Ranger outsold the Hilux for the first time in its eight-year history, as stock of the Hilux dried up due to the all-new model arriving this October.

Yet while the current BT-50 sales are hardly a disgrace, it cannot hold a candle to the Hilux or Ranger, despite sharing its underpinnings with the Ford.

Ford -Rangert

The next BT-50 is likely due in showrooms in 2017, with the new generation Hilux that may replace its Ranger roots going on sale this October.