2024 GWM Cannon Ute: Australian launch set for February 2025

GWM has confirmed the Cannon ute will officially go on sale in Australia from February 2025.

Following a successful year of growth for the Chinese brand - which saw a total of more than 42,000 GWM vehicles sold in Australia - the Cannon ute will use the same 135kW/480Nm 2.4-litre turbo-diesel engine and 3500kg towing capacity of the bigger Cannon Alpha.

"We’re excited to bring the new GWM Cannon to Australian customers in February,” said Steve Maciver, Head of Marketing and Communications for GWM. “With almost one in five vehicles sold in 2024 being a ute, it’s vital for GWM to stay ahead in innovation and technology while meeting the evolving needs of our customers.”

The Cannon ute will feature revised exterior styling consisting of a new grille and lower front bumper, and a new wheel design. Plus, an overhauled interior will include a reconfigured dash with a larger infotainment touchscreen and digital instrument cluster. The Cannon ute will also adopt the gear shift lever as found in the GWM Tank.

The story to here

The 2024 GWM Cannon Ute has officially debuted in China, with the facelifted and revamped model securing a 2.4-litre turbo-diesel engine for the first time.

It’s the same 135kW/480Nm unit as found in the Cannon Alpha already on sale in Australia. In that vehicle it has an official fuel consumption figure of 8.9L/100km, and it’s mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission and coupled with a Torque On Demand (TOD) four-wheel drive system that features a Borg Warner transfer case.

The visual changes of the MY24 model – both inside and outside – were first seen back when the curtains dropped at the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show, and you can read about that below.

Earlier this year (April 2024), GWM Australia and New Zealand's head of marketing, Steve MacIver, told 4X4 Australia that discussions are certainly underway to bring the 2.4-litre turbo-diesel engine to Australia.

“The GWM Cannon Ute has been a big contributor to the brand’s recent success in Australia. As such, we continue to work with the factory for opportunities to make it even better. The addition of a larger and more powerful 2.4L diesel engine is certainly an opportunity that we’re in discussions with the factory on,” MacIver said.

“It’s not yet locked in for Australia, but, suffice to say, we’ve expressed our interest in this powertrain upgrade and indeed any other improvements that add further to the Cannon’s already strong appeal.”

Cannon debuts at 2023 Shanghai Auto Show

The facelifted 2024 GWM Ute debuted at the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show.

It was headlined by a completely redesigned interior similar to the brand’s Tank products, with a freestanding 7-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12.3-inch infotainment system. Currently, the GWM Ute features an integrated 9-inch touchscreen and a hooded instrument cluster in either a 3.5-inch or 7-inch configuration.

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The infotainment system appears to be running new software, with a built-in SIM and WeChat and Douyin (TikTok) support in China. The vehicle can be controlled via a smartphone application in its home market. To accommodate the larger touchscreen, the centre air vents have been moved below the dashboard, and there are new upholstery options, including two-tone black and brown leather.

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However, as with GWM’s Haval SUV range, the larger touchscreen sees the omission of physical knobs for the air-conditioning and media controls, replaced by a row of shortcuts for the touchscreen. Other additions include; a new steering wheel and shift-by-wire gear selector lifted from the Tank 300, a 50-watt wireless phone charger, USB-C charge ports, and a heated steering wheel.

Outside, the refreshed Ute features a new-look front grille and bumper with larger circular fog lamps, and a standard hard tonneau cover for select variants.

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An updated active safety suite now includes Level 2+ semi-autonomous abilities, including traffic jam assist, while an automatic parking system has also been added.

The powertrains, including the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol and 2.0-litre turbo-diesel, have no updates to correspond with the update. As such, expect Australian examples to remain motivated by the current 120kW/400Nm 2.0-litre turbo-four diesel engine matched to an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission.

A blacked-out Vanta flagship and two cab-chassis variants were recently added to the GWM Ute dual-cab range in Australia, while a more-rugged Off-Road Edition has been homologated and could launch here in the coming months.

GWM Australia has also homologated single-cab and manual transmission versions of the Ute for local sale – but these variants have yet to appear in showrooms.