GWM SA ‘fighting for more production’ of diesel Tank 300

GWM SA says it’s “fighting for more production” of the 2.4-litre turbodiesel Tank 300, an engine derivative that has sparked a surge in local sales of the ladder-frame SUV…

• Diesel Tank 300 a “gamechanger” for GWM SA
  
• GWM’s local boss is seeking larger allocation
  
• 2.4TD powertrain sees Tank 300 sales spike

The head of GWM in South Africa says the Chinese firm’s local division is “fighting for more production” of the 2.4-litre turbodiesel version of the Tank 300, an engine derivative that immediately proved popular with local buyers.

Conrad Groenewald, Chief Operating Officer of GWM South Africa, was speaking during a wide-ranging interview conducted in Cars.co.za’s custom-built podcast booth at Naamsa’s South African Auto Week 2025 in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape at the start of October.

In March 2025, GWM SA introduced a pair of new 2.4TD 4×4 derivatives, bringing turbodiesel power to a line-up that had previously comprised only turbopetrol and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) powertrains. In late August 2025, the brand furthermore added a rear-wheel-drive variant with the oil-burning engine.

Groenewald described the availability of the new 2.4-litre, 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine (codenamed GW4D24) – which generates 135 kW and 480 Nm, peak outputs that are delivered via a 9-speed automatic transmission – as a “gamechanger” for the Chongqing-built ladder-frame Tank 300 range.

“We always said to our superiors overseas: ‘South Africa is a diesel market – we need a diesel’. The beauty of being in GWM is we’ve got overseas investors [who] still listen. So, if the market is saying ‘we need a diesel’, they’re open to that conversation,” Groenewald told us.

“That vehicle, we’re oversold at the moment. We asked them for 200 vehicles a month and they said: ‘no, you’re over-optimistic, you won’t sell it’. We’ve proven that we’re getting there. So, we’re now fighting for more production,” he added.

In 2024, GWM registered 526 units of the Tank 300 in South Africa (an average of 44 units a month), with a further 41 units sold in January 2025 and 58 examples in February 2025. With the arrival of the turbodiesel engine, sales in March 2025 jumped to 103 units (beating the previous high of 62 units), before spiking again to 178 units in July 2025 and 177 units in September 2025.

“Unfortunately, the 9-speed automatic transmission in that Tank [300] diesel is globally constrained – we’re oversold on that specific gearbox. So, we’re getting the short end of the stick, but I think we can do better. We’re fighting to get more production, but it’s definitely been a gamechanger for us,” Groenewald said.

The listed fuel-economy figure for the Tank 300 2.4TD powertrain comes in at 7.7 L/100 km, which compares favourably with the turbopetrol and HEV claims of 9.5 L/100 km and 8.4 L/100 km, respectively. Interestingly, the new diesel derivatives roll on all-terrain tyres (265/65 R17 for the Luxury and Super Luxury, and 265/60 R18 for the Ultra Luxury) rather than the “highway terrain” rubber used by the other variants.

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