2023 GWM Cannon Ute facelift revealed in Shanghai, on track for Australia

An updated version of the GWM Cannon Ute – a new top-end luxury variant – has been unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show.

A face-lifted version of the GWM Cannon Ute – with a bold new front-end, a more luxurious interior, a 360-degree camera, new wheel-arch flares, and a factory-fitted sports bar and hard lid – has been unveiled at the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show.

It is unclear exactly when the updated version of one of Australia’s cheapest utes will arrive in local showrooms, however it is expected by the end of this year.

The GWM Cannon Ute in Australian showrooms today has posted record sales growth over the past 18 months, and has overtaken the Nissan Navara so far this year and now outsells fellow Chinese ute, the LDV T60.

However, the Great Wall Motors pick-up is now approaching the half-way mark of its model cycle, which is when most car-makers introduce subtle styling tweaks to stay fresh.

Photos from the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show have revealed a bold new grille, redesigned front bumper, new wheel arch flares, and a revised dashboard with two widescreen digital instrument displays.

Worryingly, however, there appears to be no volume or tuning dials on the new touchscreen – an oversight for a bouncy off-road vehicle, especially as dials have since been reintroduced on the infotainment system for the Toyota HiLux, and will soon be reintroduced on Volkswagen models that currently lack them.

The updated GWM Cannon Ute also has a new steering wheel design with larger switches.

The bold new front bumper now houses round foglights rather the sleek design on today’s model.

There is also a new alloy wheel design on what appears to be a top-end luxury variant.

A factory-fitted sports bar and hard lid were installed on the display model, indicating the GWM Cannon Ute is about to start to climbing the pricing scale to more closely compete with utes such as the Ford Ranger Wildtrak and Toyota HiLux Rogue.

A representative for GWM – formerly known as Great Wall Motors, the name of its parent company – declined to outline when the updated Cannon Ute is due to arrive in Australian showrooms.

However, based on previous model-year changes, the first examples are expected to arrive by the end of 2023.

Below are photos of today’s GWM Cannon Ute to compare to the facelift pictured above.

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