Is the Australian off-road market ready for a plug-in hybrid? While the premium priced Jeep Grand Cherokee and Land Rover Defender PHEVs are already on sale, a new challenger is set to arrive in 2025 that could prove a more likely challenger to the undisputed king of off-roaders – the Toyota LandCruiser.
GWM, the burgeoning Chinese brand that has a range of hybrid models already, is set to introduce the Tank 500 PHEV by the middle of next year – assuming Australians express an interest in it.
A left-hand drive example of the Tank 500 PHEV is in Australia now for evaluation by the brand’s local executives and dealers. It was also sampled by selected Australian media, including Torquecafe, at a short off-road course at the Norwell Motorplex.
The Tank 500 is being assessed alongside a PHEV version of the GWM Cannon Alpha ute as the brand looks to expand as hybrid and plug-in hybrids grow in popularity. GWM Australia’s head of marketing and communications, Steve Maciver, told Torquecafe that while neither model is officially locked in for sale, both are a strong possibility as they have good potential in the local market.
“You know, there’s a good strong possibility you’re going to see a plug-in Alpha and Tank 500 plug-in for the middle of next year,” Maciver said. “So I’d say we’re looking at that seriously. We are taking feedback, you know, from yourselves, from our dealers. We’re working on the business case and the pricing, which is key.
“But I think as much as they’re not 100 per cent locked in yet, there’s a very good chance that we’ll see them.”
Both the Cannon Alpha and Tank 500 are based on GWM’s latest plug-in hybrid architecture, known officially as the Hi4T platform. Both are powered by the same petrol-electric set-up, featuring a 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine paired with two electric motors. The combination makes a healthy 300kW and 750Nm. Cruicially for campers or off-road adventures, both models have a 3500kg towing capacity.
The key selling point for GWM will be the efficiency, with the company claiming the Tank 500 has a fuel consumption return of just 2.06L/100km. With a 70-litre fuel tank the big SUV still has potential for a long driving range even without the electric motors and batteries.
Crucially, Maciver said GWM sees a space in the market for urban-based adventures who would benefit from the fuel saving of the PHEV powertrain during the wheel, but can then rely on the petrol engine for off-road trips.
“I think that the key advantage of a plug-in hybrid, of course, is fuel efficiency,” Maciver said. “The larger the segment, the larger the car, quite often the more important fuel economy comes ’cause the cars are generally thirstier ’cause the size and weight and everything. Now our Hi4T plug-in hybrid system is a little bit different in that yes, we’ve got pure EV range, which at this stage is wider and larger than most of our competitors, so that’s a key advantage.
“And when you think about the average commute distance from the [typical] Australian consumer living in a metro city, it’s about 35 to 40 kays a day. So if you’ve got one of these cars, you in theory can do your commute to work and back using absolutely no fuel and doing it purely on EV mode. Equally, if you’re the type of person who has been traditionally a large four-wheel-drive buyer or even a large ute buyer and you like off-roading, you’ve got the opportunity to do a lot of that in pure EV mode as well and save fuel.
“So the market’s changing,” he added. “I think one of the reasons that plug-in hybrids and EV take up thus far has been relatively slow is because there has not been a number of compelling options there for consumers, just in terms of the pure number of vehicles out there for customers to choose from, but then also price as well.”
Exactly how much the Tank 500 would cost may be the only thing stopping it from making local showrooms. Maciver admitted that the PHEV model could cost between $6000 to $15,000 more than the existing model, which starts at $66,490 for the Lux model and the $73,990 Ultra.
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