It is expected to be listed after the year, and the tank 300 hybrid version will be declared.

(Text/Zhang Jiadong Editor/Zhang Guangkai)

On February 5th, the hybrid model of Tank 300-Tank 300 Hi4-T officially appeared in the Announcement of Road Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Products of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (the 380th batch). This also means that the best-selling product in China hard-core off-road market has finally embarked on the road of electrification.

As the originator of the tank brand, the popularity of Tank 300 has greatly helped the rise of the brand, and even opened up a situation for the off-road market in China.

Nowadays, in the hard-core off-road market, Great Wall Motor’s strong presence has also benefited to a great extent from the rapid popularity of Tank 300 after its listing.

Even though the sales data of Tank 300 declined slightly in 2023 due to the entry of more off-road products, it can serve as a mainstay in the small market segment of hard-core off-road, which shows its strong product influence and market reputation.

However, it was not others who broke the "monopoly" of the tank 300, but the tank itself. At last year’s Shanghai Auto Show, the tank brand first combined hard-core off-road and electrification, and launched the tank 500 Hi4-T model, thus expanding a brand-new market segment.

Subsequently, the tank brands successively launched the tank 400 Hi4-T and the tank 700 Hi4-T models that filled the subdivision positioning, further consolidating the foundation of new energy hard-core off-road. In January of this year, the new energy vehicles under the tank have achieved sales of more than 9,000 vehicles, which undoubtedly proves the rapid recognition of consumers for plug-in hybrid to the off-road market.

However, just like the current high pricing strategy for electric vehicles in the market, since the sales volume of tank 400 Hi4-T has stabilized in the market, the tank 300 Hi4-T with the highest market voice has not entered the consumer’s field of vision for a long time. On the contrary, the tank 700 Hi4-T with a price of 500,000 yuan started the pre-sale in January this year.

From the perspective of brand development, the tank’s move is not difficult to understand.

In April last year, the declaration map of tank 300 Hi4-T was exposed, but perhaps the sales of fuel version models were stable, and the new category of "hybrid+off-road" took time to precipitate; Perhaps the oil-to-electricity structure needs further optimization; Or because the more important goal of the Great Wall is to establish a high-end brand image as soon as possible in the era of electrification. In short, from the point of view of time, the tank 300 Hi4-T, which appeared after the tank 700, seems to be more like the hand of the tank to sell high in the new year.

It is reported that the tank 300 Hi4-T is expected to be listed after the Spring Festival, and it will once again lead the new direction of the hybrid off-road market after entering the market.

According to the application information, the tank 300 Hi4-T will be equipped with a 2.0T high-power engine of E20NA, with the maximum power of 185kW and the maximum power of 120kW. The comprehensive power of the whole system reaches 300kW and the comprehensive torque is 750N·m, which is consistent with the tank 400 Hi4-T and greatly improved compared with the fuel version.

The new car will be equipped with a 37.11kWh battery, and the power battery will weigh 247kg. The curb weight will increase from 2365kg in the fuel version to 2600kg. The battery will last for 105 kilometers under WLTC, with a comprehensive fuel consumption of 2.29L/100km and a feed fuel consumption of 9.5L per 100 km.

In terms of appearance, the appearance of the tank 300 Hi4-T still continues the design style of the fuel version. The rectangular air intake grille on the front face has three thick chrome trim strips and iconic prototype headlights on both sides; The conspicuous outward-expanding wheel eyebrows are matched with square and tough body lines, which is full of off-road strength. 　 　

In details, the new car will provide the exclusive body color of new energy, and at the same time, the "Hi4-T" trailer will be added to the rear of the car to show its identity.

Looking back at the off-road market in China, the success of Tank 300 is largely due to the long-term adherence of Great Wall to off-road technology and the control of vehicle cost.

At the same time, however, the reason why the fuel version of tank 300 is difficult to go further in the market is particularly simple. "Off-road performance and fuel consumption cannot be both", and the fuel consumption of 100 kilometers above 15L is still the pain point that prevents most consumers from choosing hard-core off-road products.

However, in the era of electrification, it seems that the "low fuel consumption" of off-road vehicles is no longer a paradox to reduce the engine displacement and achieve the same off-road performance index under the blessing of hybrid technology with high torque compensation brought by motors.

In the western market, the fuel version of Tank 300 has won users’ trust through its super-high market share. After the launch of the hybrid version, whether the fuel consumption is greatly reduced can help the tank brand to further open up the urban market is the most important thing that affects the sales growth of tank brands this year.

On the other hand, the deep cultivation of the off-road market by car companies depends far more than the off-road ability of a model. The development and deepening of brand cross-country culture is the embodiment of brand comprehensive value that consumers pay more attention to.

On the tank 300 Hi4-T, the vehicle will still be equipped with hard-core off-road basic configurations such as three locks, front double wishbone and rear multi-link independent suspension as standard, and at the same time, it will also provide different styles of options such as middle net, wheel rim, wading throat, wheel rim, towing hook hole, luggage rack, exterior rearview mirror, electric side pedal, back door handle and side door handle which have been verified by the market on the fuel version.

In other words, the mature and reliable products and the brand service system built around the off-road market for a long time will become the hidden value of the tank 300 Hi4-T after it enters the market.

Of course, even with many "advantages", the tank 300 Hi4-T still has brand-new challenges in the market.

In addition to the equation leopard that has been eyeing the new energy hard-core off-road market, among the traditional joint venture car companies, Toyota has planned to launch the new Land Cruiser, and Ford Fierce has completed the localization and the price has been greatly reduced. In addition, in the 200,000-yuan market, Jietu and Deep Blue have also revealed the product layout in the hard-core off-road market.

Product price, fuel consumption, urban dual-use, brand influence, system construction … With the hard-core off-road market gradually moving to the public’s field of vision, the change of market demand after the circle is broken will always affect the choice of many "players" in the off-road market, which will also become an important factor to determine whether the tank brand can lead the off-road market in China for a long time.