Numbers first, because with the Great Wall Shanhai Cannon they are the story: Petrol engine, 120kW P2 electric motor. Great Wall Motor built from 2022, in the decade the industry is turning electric.
Where it came from
The Great Wall Cannon Alpha is a mid-size pickup truck produced by Great Wall Motor since 2022. It was first introduced at the Chengdu Auto Show in August 2022. The vehicle is positioned above the Great Wall Pao, with larger exterior dimensions and larger powertrain output.
Its SUV derivative is marketed as the Tank 500. It is called the Great Wall Shanhai Cannon (Chinese: 山海炮; pinyin: Shānhǎi Pào, literally: Mountain Sea Cannon) in China. In November 2024, the vehicle was launched in Thailand as the GWM Poer Sahar. It will also be marketed in Australia and New Zealand in mid-2024 as the GWM Cannon Alpha.
Under the skin
Power comes from Petrol engine; 120kW P2 electric motor is the published figure; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. It shifts through a 9-speed Automatic transmission / automatic / 9-speed 9HAT automatic transmission / automatic (HEV). The wheelbase is 3350 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Its family tree is legible: assembly was at Tianjin. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Kia EV6, the Mercedes-Benz EQE, the Alfa Romeo Tonale — show what else the money bought that year. Nearby in the Great Wall Motor catalogue sit the Great Wall Coolbear and the Great Wall Cowry.