GWM has detailed its new 3.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, which will become available in Australia in the 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, up 35kW and 140Nm on the 2.4-litre turbo-diesel four it will replace in the Cannon Alpha.
It’ll be the first time a diesel has been offered in the Australian-market Tank 500, where it’ll replace the existing 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol hybrid variant that’s in runout.
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The 3.0-litre Cannon Alpha and Tank 500 are due on sale here in the third quarter (July to September) of 2026, and will come standard with a nine-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive.
They’ll both offer a braked towing capacity of 3500kg, something the Cannon Alpha already manages but the Tank 500 doesn’t, as it can only haul 3000kg.
GWM has confirmed it benchmarked the performance and drivability of its new 3.0-litre turbo-diesel four against the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 that powers the Ford Ranger and Everest.
And despite the Ford mill having two extra cylinders, its peak torque output is slightly lower at 600Nm. The Ford engine does pull ahead of the GWM oil-burner in terms of power, though, with 184kW – 14kW more than the new Chinese 3.0-litre.
It’ll be the equal-largest-displacement turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine available in Australia, tied with the 3.0-litre in the Isuzu D-Max ute and MU-X large SUV, and the Mazda BT-50 utes. However, these vehicles only offer outputs of 140kW and 450Nm.
GWM hasn’t confirmed any other specifications yet, but promises a five per cent improvement in fuel consumption on the NEDC cycle compared to the 2.4-litre turbo-diesel, and a 20 per cent improvement in the claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time.
For context, the Cannon Alpha 2.4-litre diesel consumes 8.9L/100km.
In terms of emissions, at least in the Tank 500 the new diesel is said to offer similar CO2 figures to the existing hybrid.
“The diesel is actually similar to the hybrid from a CO2 point of view,” GWM Australia product planning manager Tim Leong told CarExpert.
On the combined cycle, the Tank 500 hybrid emits 199g/km, only 1g/km less than the Toyota Prado which has a mild-hybrid turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine.
The hybrid does have more power and torque, though, with total system outputs of 255kW and 648Nm.
The new diesel will be compatible with hybrid and plug-in hybrid systems currently in development, with GWM planning to launch electrified diesels in China early in 2027. Australia is set to follow, though it remains to be seen whether we will get both powertrain types.