GWM’s Tank 4WD brand confirmed for Australia with hybrid power

Chinese car giant GWM is on track to launch its four-wheel-drive brand next year, including Australia’s first electrified off-roader.

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GWM Haval sub-brand Tank has been confirmed for sale in Australia – and will launch with a range of off-roaders next year, including some with hybrid power.

The marque currently offers two models in the Chinese domestic market – the 300 mid-size SUV (below) and 500 large SUV (above) – with others previewed at motor shows throughout 2021.

GWM Haval offers a smaller, car-derived Big Dog in China (see gallery below) – badged as a

Haval, but with stylistic inspiration drawn from the 300 – that is also on the cards for local distribution.

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“The domestically popular ‘Tank’ will be officially launched in Australia next year,” a global market report released earlier this week said. “In order to bring diversified choices to consumers, the fuel version and hybrid version of the Tank series will be launched at the same time.”

It’s not clear which model Tank will import first, though the Tank 500 is the only model to date that offers both petrol-only (in other words, “fuel”) and hybrid power – the latter of which was revealed for the right-hand-drive Thai market last month.

A spokesperson for GWM Haval is Australia would not comment directly on the report, however, when asked about the future of the Tank and Ora brands, said: “We’re still looking at specific dates and model variants for this market.”

Earlier this year two examples of the Big Dog and 300 were flown into Australia for media and customer evaluation, and, at the time, GWM Haval’s local arm claimed both model were on the “wish list.”

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