GWM has detailed its new 3.0-litre turbodiesel four-cylinder engine that will be available in Australia Tank 500 large SUV and Cannon Alpha ute later this year.
The 3.0-litre diesel engine will produce 170kW of power and 620Nm of torque, which is 35kW and 140Nm more than the 2.4-litre turbodiesel it will replace in the Cannon Alpha.
It is the first time a diesel has been offered in the Tank 500 in the Australian market, where it will replace the existing 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol hybrid variant, which is no longer available.
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The 3.0-liter Cannon Alpha and Tank 500 are scheduled to go on sale here in the third quarter (July to September) of 2026 and will come with a nine-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive as standard.
Both offer a braked towing capacity of 3,500 kg, which the Cannon Alpha already manages, but the Tank 500 cannot, as it can only tow 3,000 kg.
GWM has confirmed it has compared the performance and drivability of its new 3.0-litre turbodiesel four-cylinder engine with the 3.0-litre turbodiesel V6 that powers the Ford Ranger and Everest.
And although the Ford factory has two additional cylinders, its maximum torque is slightly lower at 600 Nm. However, at 184 kW, the Ford engine is ahead of the GWM oil burner in terms of performance – 14 kW more than the new Chinese 3.0-liter engine.
It will be the same and largest displacement turbodiesel four-cylinder engine available in Australia, on par with the 3.0-litre engine in the Isuzu D-Max ute and MU-X large SUVs and the Mazda BT-50 utes. However, these vehicles only offer outputs of 140 kW and 450 Nm.
GWM hasn’t confirmed any further specifications yet, but promises a five per cent improvement in fuel consumption on the NEDC cycle compared to the 2.4-litre turbodiesel and a 20 per cent improvement in claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time.
For comparison: the Cannon Alpha 2.4 liter diesel consumes 8.9 l/100 km.
When it comes to emissions, the new diesel should have similar CO2 values to the existing hybrid, at least for the Tank 500.
“The diesel is actually similar to the hybrid from a CO2 perspective,” said Tim Leong, product planning manager at GWM Australia Daily Sparkz.
On the combined cycle, the Tank 500 Hybrid emits 199g/km, just 1g/km less than the Toyota Prado, which has a mild-hybrid turbodiesel four-cylinder engine.
However, the hybrid has more power and torque with a total system output of 255kW and 648Nm.
The new diesel will be compatible with hybrid and plug-in hybrid systems currently under development. GWM plans to launch electrified diesels in China in early 2027. Australia will follow, but it remains to be seen whether we will get both types of powertrain.
MORE: Explore the GWM Cannon Alpha showroom
MORE: Explore the GWM Tank 500 showroom
