GWM dethrones Ford as Australia’s diesel torque king
A new 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine will soon become available to the GWM Cannon Alpha and Tank 500, outgunning the Ford Ranger and Everest.
Australia will be the first market in the world to receive GWM’s new 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, set to power the Cannon Alpha ute and Tank 500 SUV.
Previously announced as a replacement for the 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel in the Cannon Alpha and as a first-time diesel offering in the Tank 500, GWM has today confirmed outputs for the larger 3.0-litre.
Producing 170kW of power and 620Nm of torque, GWM’s 3.0-litre four-cylinder is up 35kW and 140Nm on the 2.4-litre it replaces, while also being in the same ballpark as the Ford Ranger and Everest.
In the Fords, a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 is available, developing more power than GWM’s engine at 184kW, but less torque at 600Nm.
For further context, the Toyota HiLux and LandCruiser Prado both feature a 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, putting out 150kW and 500Nm.
The Isuzu D-Max (plus its Mazda BT-50 twin) and MU-X, the only other vehicles with a 3.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, also manage just 140kW and 450Nm.
That now means that in their respective classes – and at the price points – the 3.0-litre Cannon Alpha and Tank 500 produce more torque than their competitors, while retaining their existing 3500kg braked towing capacity.
A nine-speed automatic transmission continues to sit behind the new 3.0-litre engine, while GWM claims it also consumes less fuel, with a lab test result of 7.3L/100km in the Cannon Alpha (well down from the 2.4-litre’s 8.9L/100km figure), and 7.1L/100km for the Tank 500.
The engine itself has been the subject of more than six months of testing locally, with its engineering and validation led by former Holden engineer Rob Trubiani, who has served as GWM Australia’s product engineering and vehicle dynamics manager since last year.
While GWM took up permanent residency at the Lang Lang proving grounds formerly owned by Holden in 2025, the recent purchase of the facility by a defence contractor led to the brand having to find another place to develop its products – a location that has yet to be announced.
Pricing for the 3.0-litre Tank 500 and Cannon Alpha is yet to be announced, though GWM says customers can place expressions of interest now ahead of their debut in September.
