GWM plotting V8 RAM 1500 rival

GWM has dropped a massive hint it’s cooking up something to take on the big boys in the ute world: a full-size pick-up truck.

And the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that shocked the automotive world at last week’s Shanghai auto show is virtually guaranteed to be lurking under the bonnet.

James Yang, GWM’s global boss for right-hand drive markets, all but confirmed the Chinese off-road specialist has been developing a full-size American truck.

That market is dominated by the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado and RAM 1500 both in the USA and Australia.

The GWM decision-maker even went hands-on with several American utes during his Australian visit to benchmark the competition, stating that the company’s new twin-turbo V8 hybrid engine would be a good fit for a full-size pick-up truck.

“For the moment, the V8 could potentially fit in one of our SUVs,” Yang told Australian journalists via interpreter.

“But as for utes and pick-ups, it’s most likely going to be one that is bigger than what we have currently.”

That’s code for ‘we’re coming after the big American trucks.’

Make no mistake, the new truck is designed to out-muscle American icons, especially when towing massive caravans and horse floats, while a V8 engine is something that customers in this segment traditionally gravitate towards.

The only thing holding GWM back? Trump’s tariffs on Chinese vehicles.

Yang admitted the V8 ute project is “…stuck in limbo,” because of the tariff situation in the USA.

“So one of the key things is that big American pick-up trucks are mostly sold in America and with the recent tariffs … it’s really put the bigger pick-up truck on a little bit of a hold,” he explained.

Without access to the world’s most lucrative pick-up market, the economics of developing a vehicle specifically targeted at challenging established players like the Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra simply don’t add up.

But vehicle development cycles are long and GWM will likely look to other markets such as Australia as a litmus test for such a vehicle, while waiting for a potential shift in trade policy with the USA.

GWM hasn’t revealed the power figures of its new burly new V8, but one of the brand’s powertrain chiefs confirmed the new engine will out-muscle the company’s current engine options, including its 385kW/800Nm V6 hybrid.

The GWM Tank 700 is shaping up to be the first vehicle in line to get the potent new V8 and while it’s too big to fit in GWM’s current Aussie ute offerings, the Cannon and Cannon Alpha, a full-size V8 pick-up truck is still very much on the agenda.

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