GWM's awesome Tank range is going global

Friday, 25 June 2021

GWM’s Tank line-up is going global. Could they come here?

GWM’s awesome Tank sub-brand is going global after its Chinese launch in 2020.

Starting with the Tank 300, the off-roader rides on the appropriately named ‘Tank’ platform by Great Wall. It’s powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine making 167kW, with an eight-speed ZF-sourced gearbox sending power to all four wheels.

The GWM Cannon is bigger than a Ford ranger, but with a much, much smaller price.

Special features like a bespoke all-terrain control system, ‘Tank turning’ and creep modes set the chunky, definitely-not-inspired-by-the-G-Wagen off-roader apart. In fact, GWM says the Tank 300 is so popular that the 300 Monet Limited Edition models were snapped up within five minutes, along with more than 10,000 pre-orders.

Particularly, due to the huge number of orders for the range-topping spec of Tank 300, customers need to book one at least half a year in advance. In the Chinese off-road SUV segment, Tank 300 has a combined market share of over 50 per cent. GWM says production has been boosted to meet demand.

**READ MORE:

The Tank 800 is the luxury option, taking a bit of design inspiration from Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

* Five Things: Weird and wonderful Shanghai Motor Show reveals

* First drive review: Toyota Highlander

The Big Dog sits on the same underpinnings as the Haval H6 that is on sale in New Zealand now.

* Road test review: Range Rover Sport SVR Carbon Edition

* First drive review: Lexus IS

Moving up a step, the Tank 700 was shown off at the Shanghai Motor Show earlier this year. It gets a ‘mecha’ design, along with a ladder-frame chassis and four-wheel independent air suspension.

Power comes from a 3.0-litre turbocharged V6, making 260kW/500Nm, though GWM is working on a hybrid version that adds an electric motor inside the nine-speed automatic transmission and bumps output to 380kW/750Nm.

Finally, the Tank 800 represents the luxury end of the range. According to the release, the 800 “offers drivers a top-tier driving experience with its delicate design, high-grade materials, high-precision techniques, full-sized commercial-style cabin and advanced smart systems.”

It uses the same 3.0T V6 and nine-speed automatic transmission while taking just a bit of inspiration from the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Bentley Bentayga. Apparently, a plug-in hybrid version is coming too, but details are slim on that front.

So could we see the Tank range in New Zealand? While GWM New Zealand didn’t respond to our enquiries, the Australian arm of the operation is keen to get its hands on them, with GWM Haval marketing manager, Steve Maciver telling Australian media “The decision's going to come from head office in the coming months.”

Maciver said GWM Haval had done local research with potential Australian customers for both the Tank 300 and the awesomely-named Haval Big Dog and had relayed the feedback to head office in China.

“They’re doing the business case now to work out whether they can make the business case stack up,” he said.