The GWM Tank 300 will gain a diesel option in 2025, joining the petrol and hybrid powertrains already available.
“We’re going to also have the diesel here… In the first half of next year,” GWM Australia and New Zealand managing director Charles Zhao told CarExpert.
Also used in the GWM Cannon Alpha, the 2.4-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder produces 135kW of power and 480Nm of torque.
In the Cannon Alpha, this is mated with a nine-speed automatic transmission.
100s of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now.
GWM Tank 300 Ultra Hybrid
Here’s how the diesel compares with the other Tank 300 powertrains offered locally:
| Diesel | Petrol | Hybrid | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain | 2.4L turbo-diesel four | 2.0L turbo-petrol four | 2.0L turbo-petrol four hybrid |
| Power | 135kW | 162kW | Engine: 180kW Electric motor: 78kW Total: 258kW |
| Torque | 480Nm | 380Nm | Engine: 380Nm Electric motor: 268Nm Total: 615Nm |
| Transmission | 9-speed auto | 8-speed auto | 9-speed auto |
It’s unclear how the Tank 300 diesel will be priced.
The entry-level Lux petrol is currently priced at $46,990 drive-away, while the Lux Hybrid costs $50,990 drive-away.
Stepping up to flagship Ultra trim adds $4000 with the petrol and $5000 with the hybrid.
The Tank 300 offers an even wider variety of powertrains in China.
There, GWM also introduced a version of the Tank 300 – called the Tank 330 – that’s powered by a turbocharged 3.0-litre petrol V6 engine.
A version using the company’s new Hi4-T plug-in hybrid system was also revealed by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology earlier this year.
Neither of these powertrains have been confirmed for right-hand drive production at this stage.
The GWM Tank 300 is a rather unique offering in the Australian market, being slightly smaller than other body-on-frame off-roaders like the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and lacking their third row of seating.
Tank 500 and Tank 300
The large off-roader segment is also dominated by diesels in Australia, making the Tank 300 somewhat of an outlier. Among its direct rivals, only the LDV D90 offers the option of petrol power, but it can also be had as a diesel.
While GWM is growing the number of options across its Tank 300 and Tank 500 lines, with the latter also gaining a plug-in hybrid version next year, it says it’s not planning to add the Tank 400 and Tank 700 SUVs… at least not yet.
“We want to focus on 300 and 500 in the short term, and not the 400 or 700 at the moment in the short term,” said Mr Zhao.
MORE: Everything GWM Tank 300
