It looks like the Isuzu D-Max is not at risk of being upstaged by its sister-car the Mazda BT-50, as the D-Max will be launched in Malaysia ahead of the BT-50.

WapCar.my understands that there is a direction by Mazda Motor for its overseas distributors to show respect to its partner Isuzu by granting Isuzu the privilege of launching the D-Max first.

In Australia, the first export market for the all-new D-Max, Mazda Australia had intentionally delayed the launch of the BT-50 there by one month, announcing the BT-50’s prices and specifications only on 29-September 2020, nearly one month after the Isuzu D-Max arrived at Mazda dealerships there.

Perhaps this is also why Mazda has decided to dump its previous partner Ford in favour of Isuzu. Both Japanese companies share a similar culture and way of thinking and the partnership seems to be working very well.

Also read: Mazda BT-50: This is why Mazda chose the Isuzu D-Max over the Ford Ranger

The Mazda BT-50 is developed under collaboration with Isuzu, with Mazda re-skinning the Isuzu D-Max with its own styling, but under the metal panels the BT-50 is mechanically identical to the D-Max.

Mazda has since parted ways with its former partner Ford and while the previous BT-50 was based on the Ford Ranger, built at the Mazda-Ford jointly owned Auto Alliance Thailand plant in Rayong, the current all-new BT-50 is developed with assistance from Isuzu – the world leading diesel engine manufacturer.

Also read: 2021 Mazda BT-50 debuts in Thailand, D-Max reliability with Kodo Design

Both the Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 are produced at the Isuzu Motors Co., (Thailand) Ltd. (IMCT) plant in Samutprakarn. However, it is left to be seen if the Malaysian-specs all-new D-Max will be imported from Thailand or locally-assembled at the DRB-Hicom facility in Pekan.

Earlier, Mazda distributor Bermaz Motor’s parent company Bermaz Auto had said that the Mazda BT-50 will be launched in Malaysia sometime in the first quarter of 2021 but as you can tell by now, this is no longer happening.

Instead, all signs are pointing to the all-new Isuzu D-Max launching in Malaysia soon. Isuzu Malaysia’s dealers have sold out most of their stocks of the outgoing generation D-Max.

So too are Mazda dealers with the BT-50 but the Mazda pick-up truck contributes only a very small volume to Bermaz’s total sales.

As the D-Max is Isuzu Malaysia’s only light commercial vehicle product in its line-up, you can be certain that Isuzu Malaysia is fast-tracking the launch of the D-Max here, else its dealers will be losing money from not having a core product to sell.

The all-new Isuzu D-Max will hit the market with a lot of tail wind behind. It has the looks to match the Ford Ranger’s swag but with the added bonus of having Isuzu’s strong reputation for reliability.

In Thailand, the D-Max has since toppled the Toyota Hilux as the No.1 selling pick-up truck there. That’s quite a feat for a country that’s synonymous with the Hilux.

Also read: Move over, Hilux! Isuzu D-Max is Thailand’s most popular pick-up in 2020!