Cannon Alpha-sourced diesel power has been added to GWM’s Prado-rivalling Tank 500 in Thailand, but Australia may wait for a more powerful 3.0-litre version coming soon.
A 2.4-litre turbo-diesel version of the GWM Tank 500 off-road four-wheel-drive launched overseas may skip Australia in favour of a new, more powerful 3.0-litre engine that is two years away.
GWM has added the 135kW/480Nm 2.4-litre diesel engine from the Cannon Alpha ute to the Tank 500 large SUV in Thailand, another right-hand-drive market
It would give GWM Australia a direct rival to the popular Toyota Prado and Ford Everest diesel 4WDs in the near term, to supplement the ‘plug-less’ and plug-in hybrids already or soon-to-be-offered in local showrooms.
“It is an option, but at this point in time, we don’t have anything to share regarding the 2.4,” GWM Australia senior product planning specialist Tim Leong told Drive.
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However, comments made by international GWM executives earlier this year suggest the Chinese auto giant may wait for a larger 3.0-litre engine to become available.
The enlarged diesel engine will be an all-new four-cylinder, not a V6, and is in development for a 2027 launch in the Cannon Alpha ute and Tank 500, focused on markets such as Australia.
“I think we also have some products [we will] wait [before] launching in Australia because some powertrain, especially the high-end SUV, off-road SUV you need the high torque,” GWM’s boss of right-hand-drive markets, James Yang, told Australian media in April.
“In China or other markets we have [a] 2.4-litre diesel. Especially in Thailand for the customer, the driving experience is OK, but I think in Australia we need high torque, the big engine.
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“So [for] some products we will wait [for] this engine to launch [before introducing them] in Australia.”
Technical details of the 3.0-litre engine are yet to be revealed, but it is set to be more powerful than the 135kW/480Nm 2.4-litre unit.
The Toyota Prado’s 2.8-litre single-turbo four-cylinder produces 150kW/500Nm, while the Ford Everest develops 154kW/500Nm with a 2.0-litre bi-turbo four-cylinder diesel, or 184kW/600Nm with a 3.0-litre single-turbo V6.
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A plug-in hybrid is due to join the GWM Tank 500 range later this year, complementing the existing plug-less petrol-electric hybrid.
GWM is yet to announce if the plug-in Tank 500 will use its Hi4-T technology, which retains a mechanical four-wheel-drive system, transfer case and differential locks, or Hi4-Z, which has no mechanical connection between the front and rear electric motors.
The former develops 300kW/750Nm – and places its electric motor between the engine and gearbox – while the latter claims 635kW from an electric motor on each axle, split by a 59kWh battery with nearly twice the Hi4-T pack’s capacity.
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