Toyota Prado in firing line of new Tank 400

China’s answer to the Toyota Prado, the Tank 400, broke cover in near-production guise at the recent Chengdu motor show, previewing another all-new model from GWM’s burgeoning 4x4 off-road brand that could make its way to Australia.

GWM Australia currently sells Haval SUVs and GWM Ute vehicles Down Under and has made no secret of its desire to launch the Tank brand in Australia.

Based on the same rugged ladder-frame platform as the GWM Ute available in Australia, the Tank 400 concept’s striking exterior design features pumped wheel-arches, an exposed spare wheel on the tailgate and chunky BFGoodrich all-terrain tyres.

According to Chinese media reports, the Tank 400 concept offers locking front and rear differentials and is slightly bigger than the Toyota Prado, which at 4995mm long, 1885mm wide is classed as a large SUV.

The interior shows off white leather power-adjustable heated and cooled front seats, an analogue instrument cluster and a super-wide screen central touch-screen display.

There’s no details on the powertrain but the brand has a number to choose from, including the 3.0-litre turbo-petrol V6 (264kW/500Nm) in the bigger Tank 500 that was also shown in Chengdu and will line up against the new Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series.

GWM Australia also recently shipped the small Jeep-Wrangler-rivalling Tank 300 to Australia for local evaluation and market research with an eye towards a 2022 or 2023 launch. Check out our Tank 300 review for more details.

The Chinese car-maker is actively considering all Tank models for Australia and if the Tank 400 gets the green light alongside the Tank 500, the upstart brand it could have at least three new models with genuine 4x4 off-road ability and super-competitive pricing.

Most of the new Tank models revealed in China thus far – Tank 300, Tank 400, Tank 500, Tank 700 and Tank 800 – are understood to be based on the same robust ladder-frame chassis as the GWM Ute.

GWM Australia marketing chief Steve Maciver has already confirmed the Tank 500 is under consideration for Australia and said all models are being considered.

“We’re looking at the entire Tank range, there’s a number of options we can look at – but no decisions have been made at this point,” he said.

The Tank 400 and 500 twins could also serve as replacements for the current Haval H9, which is currently on sale in Australia but will not be replaced with the recently facelifted model shown in China.

It’s possible GWM Australia’s Haval brand will become the soft-roader specialist, with the likes of the H6, Jolion and Big Dog, while Tank will harbour the hard-core off-roaders.