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The GWM Tank 500 off-road SUV will gain plug-in hybrid power in Australia within weeks – but it will only offer five seats, not seven.
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The GWM Tank 500 off-road SUV has been confirmed to receive the same plug-in hybrid system as the Cannon Alpha ute in Australia, offering mechanical four-wheel drive.
Compared to the Tank 500 hybrid, the Hi4-T plug-in hybrid system retains a 180kW/380Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine and nine-speed automatic transmission.
However, it adds a more powerful 120kW/400Nm electric motor for a 300kW/750Nm combined system output – up 45kW and 102Nm over the hybrid's claimed 255kW and 648Nm.
Under the skin, it features the same 37.1kWh nickel-maganese-cobalt (NMC) battery as the Cannon Alpha PHEV, rated for a 120-kilometre electric-only driving range on the NEDC lab-test standard and a 950km combined range.
Combined fuel consumption is rated at 2.1 litres per 100 kilometres, less than the hybrid's 8.5L/100km but more than the Cannon Alpha PHEV's 1.7L/100km rating.
Its 0-100km/h time is rated at 6.9 seconds, a 1.4-second improvement over the hybrid's 8.3-second claim.
GWM claims its large battery has resulted in the Tank 500 PHEV being offered with five seats, rather than the hybrid's seven-seat configuration, with the PHEV set to offer heating, ventilation and massaging functions for the outer second-row seats, along with a 7-inch rear touchscreen.
Pricing for the GWM Tank 500 Hi4-T Plug-in Hybrid will be confirmed closer to its Australian launch in October, the brand has confirmed, but it could start from around $73,000 drive-away, based on the cost difference between a Cannon Alpha Ultra hybrid and plug-in hybrid.
While GWM Australia has discontinued the non-plug-in hybrid version of its Cannon Alpha in favour of the diesel or petrol plug-in hybrid versions, the Tank 500 hybrid will remain on sale alongside the new PHEV model.
Like the Cannon Alpha PHEV, the Tank 500 will support direct-current (DC) fast charging of up to 50 kilowatts via a CCS2 port, and vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality up to six kilowatts.
Its braked towing capacity of 3000 kilograms, approach angle of 30 degrees, breakover angle of 22.5 degrees, departure angle of 24 degrees and wading depth of 800mm remain unchanged.
However, the PHEV's ground clearance is 213mm, down from the hybrid's 224mm.
In China, the Tank 500 is also offered with on-road-focused GWM's Hi-4Z plug-in hybrid system, working similarly to the BYD Shark 6 ute with a larger battery for more electric range but eschewing a mechanical four-wheel-drive system.
More details on the 2026 GWM Tank 500 Hi4-T Plug-in Hybrid, including pricing, will be confirmed closer to its Australian launch next month.
It will arrive in Australia in pre-update guise, after a recent refresh in China saw the addition of a revised grille, new alloy wheels, a dark green exterior finish, a column-mounted gear selector, a built-in fridge and fold-down TV, and a LiDAR scanner for its driver-assistance systems.
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Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
