Mazda has chosen the 2010 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney as the venue for the world debut of its all-new BT-50 one-tonne utility.

The decision to show the BT-50 here recognises Mazda’s great tradition in the Australian light commercial market, with the B-Series (aka Bravo) and BT-50 utes having been on sale here for over 40 years. Accompanying the vehicle was its chief designer, Ryo Yanagisawa, who presented his exciting new design to the Australian motoring media on the eve of the Show.

The 2011 BT-50 marks a significant change in direction for Mazda. Until now their utilities have been designed as functional and practical vehicles but, in an attempt to chip away at Toyota’s dominance of the ute market, Mazda has sexed-up the BT-50 with a radical new styling that is sure to attract plenty of admiring looks.

More importantly, Mazda is hoping that the new style and increased size of the BT-50, especially in the rear seat area of the dual cab model, will attract the attention of SUV and family car buyers looking for a dual-purpose vehicle.

At this stage we’ve only been able to view the dual cab version – we weren’t even allowed to touch it, although we could look inside – with no information on drivetrains, features, pricing, etc provided at this stage.

The styling of the BT-50 is quite distinctive, highlighted by its flowing profile with a contoured feature line that sweeps from the headlamps over the front bumper along the doors and over the rear bumper. There’s also a large, bulbous front end featuring Mazda’s family five-point grille flanked by long, flowing headlamps.

The rear of the new BT-50 is also distinctive in that the taillights are horizontal rather than vertical as has been standard in utes until now. This means that the lights extend onto the tailgate.

Inside, there’s a real passenger car/SUV appearance – a long way from the spartan interiors of the typical old-style ute. The seats are wrapped around in cockpit style and the instrument panel flows through to a raised centre console.

Mazda Australia’s representatives remain tight-lipped on most aspects of the new BT-50 although they did indicate that, as before, all engines would be turbo-diesels and that the existing body styles, dual cab, extended cab and single cab, would continue to be offered.

While we haven’t been supplied with specific dimensions of the new Mazda ute it is clearly a much larger vehicle than the current model, looking almost to be the size of the big Ford F-Series which dominates the American market.

So, instead of the usual compromise between rear seat and tray space, both appear to be noticeably larger, something that will appeal to both family and commercial buyers. On the downside a bigger vehicle becomes less manageable in restricted spaces – we’ll be looking at this aspect of the BT-50 when we eventually get behind the wheel.

As before, the new Mazda BT-50 will be built in Thailand, with production due to start in June 2011. Given Mazda’s recognition of the importance of the Australian market we’d except the first shipments to be heading our way.

The 2011 Mazda BT-50 is a real break from tradition both in terms of styling and marketing direction and it will be interesting to see what impact that has on Australian buyers. We’ll report further as new information is provided.