• The new Tank 300 is offered in 5 variants, with the hybrid versions priced 10,000 yuan below their pre-sales levels.
• Tank brand sales fell 27.16% year-on-year in June and declined 10.62% in the first half of the year.

GWM (HKEX: 2333) officially launched the new-generation Tank 300 SUV (sport utility vehicle) on Sunday, giving the core model of its premium off-road brand a major overhaul.

The new vehicle is available in 5 variants spanning gasoline, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains.

The gasoline version starts at 199,800 yuan ($29,499), while the diesel version starts at 234,800 yuan.

The long-wheelbase Tank 300L Hi4-T hybrid starts at 249,800 yuan, while the Hi4-Z hybrid is priced at 259,800 yuan. The final prices of both hybrid models are 10,000 yuan lower than the pre-sales prices announced on July 6.

The Tank 300 is the Tank brand's main sales driver. The latest overhaul includes 553 vehicle-wide upgrades, with more than half of its components updated, and introduces GWM's Hi4-Z plug-in hybrid system to the model for the first time.

The exterior retains the model's signature boxy shape and retro round headlights, while the grille now features a blacked-out "TANK" wordmark.

The combustion-engine versions retain the standard 2,750 mm wheelbase, while the hybrid Tank 300L has a wheelbase of 3,010 mm, 260 mm longer than the previous model.

The Hi4-T version uses a non-decoupled four-wheel-drive configuration and is equipped with a 130-kW (174 hp) front motor and a 37.1-kWh battery.

It has a WLTC electric-only range of 105 kilometers, a combined range of 913 kilometers and can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 6.1 seconds.

More images of the all-new Tank 300:

The Hi4-Z version uses a decoupled four-wheel-drive architecture, with a 180-kW front motor, a 200-kW rear motor and a 59.6-kWh battery.

Its powertrain delivers a combined output of 560 kW. The vehicle has a WLTC electric-only range of 200 kilometers, a combined range of 1,122 kilometers and can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in just 4.3 seconds.

Smart-driving technology is another focus of the overhaul. The hybrid versions are equipped with 27 sensing devices, including 1 LiDAR, 3 millimeter-wave radars, 11 high-definition cameras and 12 ultrasonic radars.

The vehicle uses GWM's Coffee Pilot 3 assisted-driving system, supporting all-scenario NOA (Navigate on Autopilot) and a sentry mode. The combustion-engine versions use a vision-only assisted-driving system.

The cabin features a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 15.6-inch floating 2.5K display. It runs the Coffee OS 3 AI-powered cockpit system and supports the Coffee GPT in-vehicle AI voice model.

For outdoor use, the vehicle supports up to 6 kW of external power discharge and has a certified towing capacity of 2.5 tons.

It also offers factory-installed IoT devices including an in-vehicle radio, an oxygen generator and satellite communications equipment, underscoring GWM's effort to build a broader off-road ecosystem.

The launch comes as the Tank brand faces mounting sales pressure. It sold 15,713 vehicles in June, down 27.16% year-on-year and 7.93% from May, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

Tank sold 92,653 vehicles in the first half of the year, down 10.62% year-on-year. The brand accounted for 15.87% of GWM's total sales during the period, down from 18.19% a year earlier.

At the company level, GWM sold 108,080 vehicles in June, down 2.36% year-on-year. Overseas markets remained its main growth engine, with international sales surging 50.16% and accounting for 55.67% of the total.

In China's 200,000-yuan to 300,000-yuan rugged off-road vehicle market, the new Tank 300 will compete directly with models including BYD's (HKEX: 1211) Fang Cheng Bao Bao 5 and the Ford Bronco.

($1 = 6.7733 yuan)