Mazda B-Series (International)

See Mazda B-Series (North America) for that market's version

The Mazda B-series is a 2-door pick-up truck, first manufactured in 1961 by Mazda Motor Corporation. The current model, which was first manufactured in 1999, is the mark 7. The mark 7 can be manufactured with 1 of four body styles and 1 of two engines.

From the first B-Series pickup truck, Mazda has used the engine displacement to determine the name. Thus, the B1500 had a 1.5L engine, and the new B4000 has a 4.0L V6. In Japan, Mazda used the Proceed name on its compact pickup trucks, and another line of larger trucks is available called the Mazda Titan. Other names used for this line include Mazda Bravo (Australia), Mazda Bounty (New Zealand), Mazda Magnum / Thunder / Fighter (Thailand), and Mazda Drifter (South Africa).

Mazda's partnership with Ford has resulted in the sharing of this vehicle—the Mazda B-Series and Ford Ranger are essentially the same. In Australia and New Zealand, since the 1970s, the Ford Courier name is also used and the line continues today.

However, it should be borne in mind that the Mazda B-Series and Ford Ranger twins found inside North America are unrelated to the ones sold elsewhere. These are engineered by Mazda, whereas the North American models are developed by Ford. See Mazda B-Series for more information on the variations on the B-Series line.

1961

The Mazda B-Series truck was introduced in Japan in August 1961 as the B1500/Proceed. It had a 1484 cc OHV water-cooled engine with wet sleeve cylinders which produced about 59hp (44kW). It presaged many of the compact pickups of today.

1966

The 1966 B1500/Proceed continued with the same 1484 cc OHV I4, with minor changes in the cylinder head/valves and the use of a downdraft carburetor instead of a sidedraft unit as used on the 1961 to 1965 models. The UA engine now produced 73hp (54kW). The chassis, now called the BUD61, had a major facelift and changed to four headlights. It looked very similar in appearance to the B1600 that succeeded it in 1971.