GWM is looking to take the fight right to Toyota and Ford in both the ute and SUV segment with a new 3.0-litre turbo diesel engine set to make its global debut by mid-2026.
At the recent GWM Tech Day in Melbourne, GWM Chief Technology Officer Nicole Wu said that the 3.0-litre engine would join the company's existing 2.0-litre and 2.4-litre turbo diesels, adding "and here's the kicker; our 3.0-litre turbo diesel Tank and ute models will make their global debut right here in Australia by mid next year."
Unlike other 3.0-litre diesel engines in the segment, the GWM unit won't be a six-cylinder, rather it will be a four-cylinder unit that could produce up to 170kW and 600Nm.
This is slightly shy of the 184kW produced by the Ford 3.0-litre diesel V6 used in the Ranger, Everest and Volkswagen Amarok, but right on it for torque.
The larger diesel engine will initially make its way into the Tank 500 and Cannon Alpha ute, and could well see use in the larger Tank 700 which currently uses a 385kW/850Nm plug-in hybrid V6 petrol engine and is being evaluated for release locally.
While it won't make it into the current generation of smaller Cannon utes, it could be a possibility for the next-gen ute that is expected to grow slightly larger.