GWM Tank 500 2026 News

GWM will give its Cannon Alpha dual-cab ute and its very closely-related Tank 500 SUV a handy performance and economy boost with a big new internal combustion engine (ICE) transplant.Due in August, the 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel unit is a coup for the local distributor, as Australia will be the first market in the world to receive it, according to a company spokesperson.Final specifications and outputs are yet to be divulged, but in the Chinese-market 2027 models, the big four-pot diesel will deliver around 170kW of power and 620Nm of torque, pushed to the rear or all four wheels via a beefed-up version of the company’s in-house nine-speed torque-converter automatic transmission.This will be the first diesel application of any description in the 500 SUV, which has only been available here with a 258kW/615Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol hybrid since its 2024 Australian release and, more-recently, a 300kW/750Nm plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) option dubbed Hi4-T.The same plug-in hybrid set-up is also available in the Cannon Alpha, which is the larger and newer of two Cannon utes GWM sells in Australia, but the 3.0-litre unit will supplant the existing 135kW/400Nm 2.4-litre turbo-diesel, suggesting that price rises are coming as a result of the switcheroo.As announced at last month’s China Auto Show, hybrid and PHEV diesel versions will also be offered in various models across each of GWM’s sub-brands, as required, in the near future, including with the 120kW/400Nm 2.0-litre turbodiesel unit serving the entry-level P300 Cannon utes.“Maybe the first quarter of 2027,” according to GWM Chief Technology Officer Nicole Wu. “That really depends on the real situation in each market.”The company has already released some data pertaining to the 2.4-litre TD hybrid as found in the 2027 Tank 500, making a combined 145kW and 500Nm, though electric motor outputs have not yet been announced.Local timing for these electrified iterations has yet to be confirmed.That said, the latest diesel seems very efficient.In both the Cannon Alpha and Tank 500 versions that will launch in China later this year, the 3.0-litre engine is actually more economical than the 2.4-litre, according to the (comparatively lenient) Chinese combined average fuel-consumption cycle numbers.In the ute it returns 7.1 litres per 100km with 2WD and 7.3L/100km with 4WD, as opposed to 8.1L/100km in the smaller diesel 4WD alternative, while the SUV’s equivalent 3.0-litre versus 2.4-litre figures are 8.4 and 8.6 respectively.As a result, the coming 3.0-litre hybrid and PHEVs stand to be very frugal.Better still, the big diesel slices nearly 5.5 seconds off the P500 Alpha 2.4-litre TD’s 0-100km/h sprint time, coming in at 10.6s. In the Tank 500, the corresponding figures see a 4.4s drop, to 10.1s.Note, however, that the Hi4-T PHEV in both vehicle types is still the sprint champion of the range at just 7.4s (Alpha) and 6.9s (Tank 500), while still being able to return a theoretical 1.7L/100km and 2.2L/100km respectively.Which probably makes offering the 2998cc 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol engine option in the Cannon Alpha and Tank 500 redundant for our market, particularly with record-high fuel prices, but GWM has left the door open by revealing that it is “…not decided yet for Australia.”For the record, in the SUV, it makes 260kW and 500Nm, manages the 0-100km/h time in 7.3s and averages 11.5L/100km.

Chinese giant GWM has its sights set on another bumper year in Australia in 2026, and it has bold plans on how to achieve its next ambitious sales target.GWM hit a high of 52,809 sales in 2025 landing in seventh place on the overall sales tally, just 400 sales ahead of BYD, but a hefty 8400 units behind sixth-placed Mitsubishi (61,198).Just five years ago in 2020, GWM’s combined sales in Australia were just 2600. To say the rise has been meteoric is an understatement.But GWM Australia and New Zealand Chief Operating Officer John Kett understands how hard it’s been to get to 50,000-plus sales and how much more of a challenge it will be to grow with an eye on the top five.“So we weren't making any outlandish statements of 100k and our premium brand will be 10k,” he told journalists in Melbourne recently in a not so subtle dig at rival BYD.“We just want to get to 75. So we set ourselves a target of a ‘six’ in front of our number this year.”Hitting a figure of 60,000-plus sales could mean unseating Mitsubishi by the end of this year, but it’s going to be a bigger task to get into fifth place, which is currently held by Hyundai (77,208 sales last year).Kett knows he faces an uphill battle to hit the longer-term 75,000 unit sales target but he said the team has studied its mainstream rivals to see how they got to their positions in the market.“It's even harder to get to 75 (thousand). We're looking at the Hyundais of the world that built scale and are sort of stuck in the 75k zone and have got aspirations to grow. We're looking at Kia, another… well managed business, trying to get from that 75 to 85, you just can't do it with one product, because it doesn't work.“We certainly looked at the history of Mitsubishi and Nissan, the things they've done so well. We've looked at the incredible consumer metrics that Mazda has always got.”Kett outlined improvements to GWM’s aftersales and customer service, with more customer service operators and investigators helping to solve product and quality issues. There’s also a focus on sharpening up the dealer footprint and expanding some spaces.But growth will largely come from continued strong sales of popular models like the Haval H6 and Tank 300, as well as a laundry list of new and updated product.GWM has already confirmed a plug-in hybrid version of the Ford Ranger-rivalling Cannon ute is coming this year, while a new 3.0-litre turbo diesel will soon be offered in the larger Cannon Alpha ute and the related Tank 500 large SUV.A plug-in Tank 300 arrives shortly, and the EV and PHEV compact SUV subbed Haval Jolion Max will also land before the end of the year.The slow-selling Ora EV range will get a boost with at least two new models landing in 2026, including the Ora 5 crossover. And GWM will finally launch its Wey semi-premium sub brand this year, likely starting with the G9 people mover.Kett admitted the brand could be doing more to talk about the hybrid and plug-in hybrid models in its line-up, especially in the Cannon ute stable.“I think with all the hybrids and super hybrids out there, we probably missed an opportunity to talk specifically about our confidence in Hi4-T (plug-in hybrid all-wheel drive powertrain). I mean Cannon Alpha is a ute, right? And we quietly let other brands beat us, and I totally respect that. But I feel like our Hi4-T story both in Cannon and Cannon Alpha will reveal itself as fit for purpose.”Combined sales of the Cannon and Cannon Alpha in the first two months of the year show GWM is ahead of the Mazda BT-50, Volkswagen Amarok, outgoing Nissan Navara and the LDV T60 for 4x4 pick-up sales.

GWM’s top-spec ute, the Cannon XSR, is impressive.It’s packed with standard features for the price ($50,990 drive-away nationwide, at time of writing), is very capable off-road (it’s armed with a front and rear diff lock) and is not atrocious on-road.But, with new-age rivals like the BYD Shark 6 and the Ford Ranger PHEV variants setting the gold standard for refinement and performance in the ute market, does the Cannon represent the future of 4WDing – cheap(er) but not nasty – or is it spearheading a worrying trend of people falling for vehicles that initially seem pretty good but ultimately deliver a less-than-ideal driving experience?As hinted at above, there’s a lot to like about the Cannon, especially in XSR guise.For one, the line-up’s new 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine – 135kW and 480Nm – is tractable and well suited to the demands of 4WDing. That’s not to say the previous-gen Cannon’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine – 120kW and 400Nm – was no good, it’s just that bigger and more powerful is better this time around.It’s nowhere near as refined as the Shark 6 or Ranger PHEV, but it’s not terrible either.And then there’s its off-road capability. It seemingly can’t go wrong armed with high and low-range 4WD, twin lockers, off-road drive modes, a snorkel, underbody protection and all-terrain tyres (Cooper Discoverer AT3 265/65 R18).Ground clearance of 228mm (reasonable), wading depth of 700mm, and off-road angles of 30 degrees (approach), and 26 degrees (departure; rampover is not listed) don’t hurt its capabilities either.Off-roading is the one area in which the Cannon eclipses something like the Shark 6 and matches, if not bests, the Ford Ranger PHEV.There’s no doubting this ute’s efficacy as a 4WD – it is very good – however, there are some trade-offs (more about that soon).This Cannon ute is also packed with features including 18-inch alloy wheels, chrome sports bar, automatic LED headlights, spray-in tubliner, keyless entry, leather-accented upholstery, 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system (with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), six-way power-adjustable driver seat, four-way power-adjustable front-passenger seat, ambient lighting, black sports bar, and matt black exterior trim.With a drive-away price of $50,990, the Cannon XSR is a new ute that represents solid value for money.But there are quirky aspects about the overall driving experience in the Cannon that leave questions lingering about the prospect of actually living with it over the long term.Concerns and criticisms have been raised over the years about driver-assist tech in Chinese-built vehicles. To the company’s credit, GWM seems to have addressed those issues, at least to some extent.The worst example of this: we were leaving a stretch of highway and driving down an off ramp when the auto emergency braking (AEB) fully engaged for no apparent reason. We went from 100km/h to a full stop in what felt like only a few metres but, of course, was about 40m or so. AEB was impressive in its application but there was no obstacle or hazard on or near the off ramp that required it. Nothing. We were supremely lucky no one had been tailgating us. The fact that this incident had even happened was far from ideal.Adaptive cruise control is haphazard in its application as it’s overly sensitive in gauging the distance between your vehicle and the one travelling in front, cutting speed when it doesn't have to.And changes in your vehicle’s speed – in response to vehicles in front, road signs (on or off the road on which you’re travelling), or other perceived threats (cyclists, parked cars, roadside shrubbery etc) – are abrupt and jarring (sometimes downright dangerous), rather than smooth and intuitive.Speaking of road signs, traffic sign recognition in the Cannon, as alluded to in the above paragraph, is regularly ‘off’ – suddenly cutting your speed in a school zone outside of school zone hours or reacting to a side street road sign, rather than the street on which you’re driving.While 4WDing, swapping between high and low-range, changing off-road modes, or switching diff locks on or off has been at times a clunky process, with the transition taking on a feeling not unlike shunting trains.Also, on one particularly hot day, the Cannon’s multimedia screen did not function at all for about five minutes after I started driving the ute. Mild inconvenience, sure, but more than annoying when a lot of the functions are operated via the screen.All of these driver-assist tech issues combine to deliver an off-kilter driving experience overall, one in which you’re never quite sure how the tech will be applied or react to real or perceived hazards.I’ve never had any such problems in the Shark 6 or Ranger PHEV.That’s not to say I don’t like the Cannon because I do. I think it’s a very capable off-roader, is a decent ute to live with day to day and, at face value at least, it seems like solid value for money (with plenty of standard features onboard), but the lingering tech issues threaten to ruin the whole Cannon experience for me.

The future is bright.

China's GWM is set to launch a new 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine option in the Prado-rivalling Tank 500 SUV in the second half of 2025. It will also feature in the related Cannon Alpha ute.Orders for the new-generation Nissan Patrol Y63 will open in Australia late in 2026, ahead of first deliveries in 2027.An update for the Suzuki Jimny three-door will see it return for local sale in early 2026. It will feature safety technology that's already present in the Jimny XL five-door.A new petrol-electric hybrid powertrain will join the LandCruiser 300 Series line-up in the second half of 2026. A version of this engine already features in the Tundra pickup. Want to know what other new models are due in 2026? Check out our rolling coverage by clicking on the links below. Best EVs Australia 2026Best Small Cars Australia 2026Best Ute Australia 2026Best New Cars 2026 AustraliaBest Family Cars Australia 2026Best Hybrid Cars Australia 2026Best SUVs Australia 2026

Australian engineering is set to shape the next-generation of GWM vehicles from the planning stage, in an effort to make them more suitable to roads outside of China.

Diesel engines are far from over, with a big new 3.0-litre unit is destined for one of Australia’s emerging range of utes and SUVs. To make its global debut in Australia sometime in the middle of next year, this internal combustion engine with no electrification assistance will arrive in an in-line four-cylinder turbo-diesel configuration that promises to be one of the most efficient of its type available anywhere in the world.

GWM has confirmed a new variant for its Tank 500 large SUV that adds plug-in hybrid power into the mix.The 2026 GWM Tank 500 Hi4-T Plug-in Hybrid is the second model to join the brand’s Australian line-up with GWM’s Hi4-T plug-in hybrid (PHEV) technology after the Cannon Alpha PHEV ute.Just one grade of the Tank 500 PHEV is available from launch, the Ultra, with a temporary drive-away price offering of $77,990, a $2000 discount on its usual $79,990 drive-away price.It brings with it a claimed 120km of electric range, or total 950km of range with the engine in play on the NEDC cycle.14.6-inch multimedia touchscreenAndroid Auto and Apple CarPlayHead-up displayNappa leather interiorPanoramic sunroofHeated and ventilated electrically adjustable front seats with massage functionDual-zone climate controlVehicle to Load (V2L)USB-C ports12-speaker sound systemParking AssistAdaptive cruise controlSurround-view cameraExterior colours:Marble White (no cost)Onyx Silver ($595)Crystal Black ($595)Dune Gold ($595)Interior leather colours:BlackBlue and cream (only with Marble White and Crystal Black exterior)GWM has a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty that covers the Tank 500. The brand also has seven years of roadside assist and seven years capped-price servicing.