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China's GWM has revealed a full-sized pick-up – possibly with a V8 – has been studied, and without Trump tariffs, could have been used to lead a US launch.
Plans for a full-size, V8-powered pick-up from GWM – which could spearhead a launch into the US market – have crossed the company's drawing board, a top executive has revealed.
But the project – and seemingly an accompanying US launch of the brand – have been placed on hold, amid the ongoing tariff war between China and the US under President Donald Trump.
It would see GWM join BYD in becoming the only Chinese car giants with public intentions to take on Ram, Ford and Chevrolet at their own game.
"For the moment, the V8 could potentially fit in one of our SUVs," GWM's global boss of right-hand-drive markets, James Yang, told Australian media, in remarks translated to English by GWM Australia product planner Tim Leong.
"But as for utes and pick-ups, it's most likely going to be one that is bigger than what we have currently."
The largest ute currently sold by GWM is the Cannon Alpha, which is closely related to the Tank 500 large SUV – a vehicle that has already been used to test the V8 internally – and splits the Ford Ranger and F-150 in size.
Asked if there are plans for a GWM ute bigger than the Cannon Alpha, Yang, via Leong, said:
"One of the key things is the big American pick-up trucks are mostly sold in America, and with the most recent tariff and all that, it's really put the whole bigger pick-up truck [idea] on a little bit of a hold.
"So right now it's kind of stuck in limbo because of all the tariffs situation."
The comment does not directly confirm plans for a full-sized pick-up, nor a US entry, but indicates the vehicle would need to be sold in the US to make the business case stack up.
Few Chinese car brands have ever attempted to enter the US market, and the few Chinese-made vehicles sold there hail from non-Chinese marques such as Polestar and Lotus.
The latest tariffs have placed even more pressure on selling Chinese cars in the US, even if they are made in North America, but use some Chinese-produced parts.
GWM has gone as far as to test US-style pick-ups on a recent visit by Yang to Australia.
"In James' last trip to Australia, he drove quite a few American V8 pick-up trucks," said Leong, translating comments by Yang.
"And with the right-hand-drive conversion, it comes with things such as limited production, high cost, as well as a question mark in the quality of the conversion itself.
"When we consider towing massive 3.5-tonne-plus caravans, the V8 would really help balance this whole situation with the plug-in [hybrid].
"So yeah, overall when in city driving, this [powertrain] will still run [the] majority in EV mode, and only during hard work – such as towing a massive van – is when it'll work in a hybrid situation."
No power and torque outputs of the new V8 hybrid powertrain have been revealed, but it is likely to exceed the 385kW/800Nm of a 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 plug-in hybrid powertrain in other GWM models.
The electric motor is sandwiched between the engine and gearbox, and assists the V8, rather than taking the lead on driving the wheels as in the BYD Shark 6.
GWM executives have highlighted the V8 as a way of ensuring a large, heavy-duty vehicle has plenty of power in reserve when the hybrid battery runs low, while running on electric power in the daily grind.
"We have found through research that when an [electric] motor is doing its peak output, it really heats up the entire system, and that's when the performance sort of plateaus," said Yang, via Leong.
"And in particular in 4x4 vehicles, such as towing as well as off-roading situations, it's also not that great when you think of just pure electric motor output, because it really requires the motor to spin in order to generate the torque.
"That's why the low speed and high torque application is just not that great for a more pure-electric kind of set-up.
"With the higher capacity of the engine, it really helps compensate the shortfall of the EV [component] especially in towing, as well as off-road situations."
Yang – speaking directly to media in English – highlighted the GWM Tank 700 as a top candidate for the V8 hybrid system.
"In this market, maybe we also want to launch the premium Tank 700, and bigger size. And for this vehicle, I think the V8 is suitable."
A new 3.0-litre turbo-diesel in development at GWM is also a candidate for the Tank 700.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
