Massive 4500kg braked towing from a PHEV for close to $100K! Tank 700 SUV could deliver that to Australia as soon as 2026

June 3, 2025June 2, 2025 Bruce Newton 9379 Views 700, GWM, Tank, towing 4500kg, V8

The Chinese auto giant GWM is set to tackle one of the last bastions of the Aussie car market preserved for legacy brands – heavy duty towing.

As soon as 2026 the brand’s Toyota LandCruiser-fighting Tank 700 luxury 4×4 SUV is expected to lob in Australia with GWM’s new twin turbo 4.0-litre plug-in hybrid V8 engine as its flagship boasting 4500kg braked towing capacity.

“You are essentially looking at a more luxurious version of [LandCruiser],” GWM Australia marketing chief Steve Maciver told EV Central when queried about the Tank 700.

“Then if we can tie in that V8 plug-in hybrid technology you are going to have more power and more towing as well.”

And given GWM’s capacity for cut-throat pricing – as evidence by many models from not only its Tank, but also Cannon, Haval and Ora brands in Australia – the 700 V8 could be priced pretty close to $100,000. Pricing for the V6 turbo-diesel LandCruiser 300 Series is currently spread from $97,990 to $146,910 plus on-road costs.

2024 GWM Tank 700 Hi4-T PHEV — 2025 GWM Tank 700 Hi4-T interior.

“That level of tech in any other brand would be well into the hundreds,” Maciver said of the Tank 700.

“But the GWM value equation – that we see in every model from Haval Jolion, through a Tank 500 and a Cannon Alpha PHEV – that stays.

“That DNA in terms of delivering value stays.”

While 3500kg has been the braked towing benchmark in Australia among heavy duty utes and SUVs, 4500kg is shaping as the new benchmark as towed vehicles such as caravans grow in size and weight.

While full-size America trucks locally converted to right-hand drive such as the top-selling RAM 1500 and its rivals priced well over $100K have had 4500kg braked towing as their preserve, the Ford Ranger Super Duty ute will arrive in 2026 with 4500kg capability and a starting price expected under $100,000.

However, the Tank 700 will be the first electrified vehicle to offer 4500kg and it will also be the first SUV. The most capable SUV on the market right now is the petrol V8 GMC Yukon which can tow 3628kg. The LandCruiser tows 3500kg braked.

Being a PHEV would mean the potential for the Tank 700 to record very low to zero fuel consumption rates if the high-voltage battery is kept charged up for day-to-day unhitched running, with the power and torque reserves of V8 engine coming into use for towing.

And those power and torque numbers promise to be mighty. The Tank 700’s V6 PHEV system currently tops out at 368kW/850Nm, so the V8 could end up over 400kW and 1000Nm!

The big US trucks powered by V8 and V6 petrol engines without electric assistance average in the teens per 100km before a van, boat or horse float is added.

Having said all that the Tank 700 is yet to be confirmed for Australian in 2026, nor that it will have the V8 powertrain with 4500kg braked capability. Other combos are expected, including the 3.0-litre PHEV we sampled in China last year.

But GWM Australia isn’t trying too hard to dampen down speculation.

“As with all improvements, GWM is always focused on setting itself apart from the competition and achieving a 4500kg towing capacity would be a clear example of that commitment,” said Maciver.

“However, when it comes to the broader market opportunity, we currently see limited demand for this capability.

“That said, we know that the future development of more powerful powertrain combinations, such as our recently unveiled V8 engine mated to out Hi4-T Plug-in Hybrid Technology, could make 4500kg towing a possibility.

“There’s nothing to confirm at this stage, but let’s see.”