2026 GWM Tank 700 teased as new 4x4 with radical hybrid system, but will this Toyota LandCruiser and Denza B5 rival it ever make it to Australia?

GWM has released a teaser video for what appears to be a new version of its Tank 700 large off-road SUV.

The Tank 700 currently tops out the Tank range in the brand’s Chinese home market, sitting above the more traditionally shaped Tank 500 that's currently sold in Australia.

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A new teaser video posted to Chinese social media, starring the brand’s outspoken Chairman, Wei Jianjun, features a shrouded silhouette of the Tank 700, with Chinese media speculating it will be an updated version of the flagship, featuring the company’s alternate plug-in hybrid tech, dubbed Hi4-Z.

Currently, GWM offers several versions of its 'Hi4' hybrid tech, with its flagship off-road capable system dubbed Hi4-T, and a more tame all-wheel-drive version for road-going cars dubbed simply Hi4. 

Currently, the GWM Cannon Alpha offers the Hi4-T system, which sets itself apart from rivals like the BYD Shark 6 and Denza B5 by maintaining mechanical driveshafts to each axle, actual differentials, a proper gearbox and a low-range transfer case supported by plug-in hybrid systems.

Instead, Hi4-Z more closely resembles the system in the Shark 6 or Denza B5, by offering electric motors primarily driving the axles, with no mechanical linkage between the rear axle and the engine.

With no propshaft or large longitudinally mounted gearbox and transfer case, this allows for a larger battery to be placed between the frame rails, allowing for a longer electric driving range.

While details on the model are yet to be revealed, some specifications were recently revealed in GWM's filing with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

These specs reveal a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine producing 185kW with electric motors on the front and rear axle producing a total of 715kWh. A massive 59.05kWh battery pack grants it a 190km EV driving range according to the more lenient CLTC cycle.

In previous comments to CarsGuide GWM’s local spokespeople have suggested the Hi4-T system as used in the Cannon Alpha is a more appropriate fit for the demands of the Australian market, as it allows the kind of mechanical 4x4 capability demanded by local buyers, and also allows products like the Cannon Alpha to maintain desirable payload and towing specifications, compared to rivals like the Shark 6.

In addition, the brand has said while the local division is strongly considering the Tank 700 to top-out the range, it may not be until an updated or second-generation version arrives, which is expected to be a more global model, available in both right- and left-hand drive.

Hi4-Z is only one part of a sprawling powertrain strategy by GWM. The brand told media at the Beijing motor show in 2025 that it plans its entire future SUV range to use the Hi4 system with all-wheel drive, and that it will continue to roll-out more models with both Hi4-T and Hi4-Z systems into the future.

But this doesn’t mean it has abandoned the idea of combustion altogether, with both a new and more powerful 3.0-litre diesel engine and a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 slated for future flagship offerings.