GWM Tank 300 towing capacity: 2,500 kg or 3,000 kg, and how to check yours

How the GWM Tank 300 ended up with two live tow ratings

On 16 May 2025 GWM Australia announced that newly produced Tank 300 petrol and hybrid vehicles would move from 2,500 kg to 3,000 kg braked, with payload rising to 610 kg on the petrol and 600 kg on the hybrid. The diesel had launched in March 2025 at 3,000 kg. Reporting attributed the uplift to more than 20 engineering changes, including larger front brakes and calipers, strengthened front knuckles, upgraded wheel bearings and a reinforced prop shaft. GWM did not publish a VIN or build-date boundary, so 16 May is an announcement date, not a test for one car.

ROVER records confirm why a simple date rule is unsafe. The 20 February 2025 applicant record carried 2,500 kg for petrol and hybrid but 3,000 kg for diesel; the 28 February record carried 3,000 kg for all three. The current record, issued 19 March 2026, lists petrol, hybrid and diesel at 3,000 kg and the PHEV at 3,300 kg. Those are applicant-supplied approval descriptors, not a VIN lookup, and the current GWM consumer brochure still caps every advertised variant at 3,000 kg. For a PHEV, use the lower current consumer figure unless GWM confirms otherwise for the VIN.

The badge does not reveal whether an earlier petrol or hybrid carries 2,500 kg or 3,000 kg. The answer lives in the vehicle's approved record and component plates, not a calendar shortcut.

Where a Tank 300's tow rating is written down

Start with the individual vehicle's approved records. Compliance information identifies the vehicle and certified masses, but a build date alone does not prove its braked tow rating. Ask GWM or the selling dealer to confirm the approved rating for the VIN in writing and retain it with the records. The diesel launched in March 2025 at 3,000 kg; an earlier petrol or hybrid can carry the 2,500 kg approval.

Then read the towbar, because it is separately rated and carries its own stamp on the assembly's rating plate. Hayman Reese still lists two different towbars for the identical 10/2022-on Tank 300 fitment: part 03480R, rated 2,500 kg braked with 250 kg on the ball and described as suiting both hybrid and petrol models, and part 03608RW, rated 3,000 kg with 300 kg on the ball. Those are component ceilings, so the fitted bar can lower the confirmed vehicle rating but cannot increase it.

When comparable records disagree, the lower number wins. Use the lowest documented tow and ball values across the vehicle, towbar and coupling, while separately checking that tyres carry the measured axle loads at the specified pressures. A car confirmed at 3,000 kg while wearing a bar stamped 2,500 kg is therefore a 2,500 kg rig, and the 250 kg stamped on that bar is its component ceiling. The braked towing capacity guide covers why the answer belongs to the whole combination rather than the badge. Establish the individual vehicle's approval from its records or GWM by VIN, inspect the towbar and coupling stamps, then apply every documented limit to the quantity it governs.

GWM Tank 300 weights: what a 2,880 kg GVM and a 5,580 kg GCM leave you

Take a current diesel, Lux or Ultra — they share one weight column. It weighs 2,280 kg at the kerb, has a 2,880 kg GVM and 5,580 kg GCM, tows 3,000 kg braked and 750 kg unbraked, and carries 600 kg of payload. Add the GVM to the braked rating and the result is 5,880 kg: 300 kg above GCM. In the conditional case of an actual 300 kg ball load, the vehicle budget is 2,880 - 300 and the combined budget is 5,580 - 3,000. Both land on 2,580 kg, so subtracting kerb leaves 300 kg. The arithmetic does not approve that ball load; it applies only after the vehicle and components are confirmed to permit it.

Ball mass counts once against the wagon's GVM, not again on the combined side where it is already inside the trailer's ATM. The gross combination mass guide walks through that method. On the hybrid, a 2,935 kg GVM plus the 3,000 kg rating equals its 5,935 kg GCM, so GVM binds first; with a 2,335 kg kerb weight and the same conditional 300 kg ball, it also retains 300 kg.

GWM Australia's March 2026 brochure prints the six-column weights table on pages 19 and 20; the live model page carries the 3,000 kg headline without those masses. Chasing Cars independently prints the diesel's combined ceiling and matching Ultra Diesel figures. The petrol and two Hi4-T PHEV mass sets also come from GWM's brochure table.

The two numbers GWM leaves out of the Tank 300 brochure

The current Australian brochure and current ROVER record contain no vehicle-side maximum tow-ball download. GWM Australia does list "Towball Download: 300kg" for genuine Tow Bar Assembly AGP1503020A, alongside 3,000 kg braked and 750 kg unbraked. That proves the component ceiling, not what the vehicle is approved to accept. The vehicle record, bar, coupling and trailer must all permit the measured load; the lowest confirmed figure governs.

GWM's March 2026 brochure and the current ROVER RVD omit maximum front and rear axle loads, tare weight and rear overhang. The brochure gives a 2,750 mm wheelbase and 4,760 mm length, but their 2,010 mm difference is both overhangs combined and cannot produce the hitch lever. A 4X4 Australia table published in May 2025 reported axle figures for selected variants, but without a linked GWM approval document they are secondary context, not certified range data.

A weighbridge can show actual front and rear axle loads, GVM and combination mass. It cannot invent an omitted axle ceiling or ball approval. Check the vehicle plate and supplied manual, ask GWM for VIN-specific written limits, inspect every component stamp, then compare the loaded rig with the limits that are actually documented.

Packing a five-seat wagon around an actual 300 kg ball load

Payload on a current Tank 300 is 600 kg on a diesel or hybrid and 610 kg on the petrol and Hi4-T PHEV. If the loaded van measures 300 kg at the ball and every approval permits it, that consumes about half the budget before anyone gets in. What remains carries people, luggage, recovery gear, water and every bolt-on.

GWM's own accessory catalogue is where that budget goes. The genuine roof tray measures 1,400 by 2,100 mm; the ridge-mount roof rail system needs two sets per vehicle; there are cross bars; and the electric trailer brake controller is an accessory rather than factory fitment, ordered with a diode kit at extra cost. GWM prints its own note beside them, asking buyers to count the combined mass of load and accessories against GVM. Under current VSB1, GTM sets two braking steps. Once GTM exceeds 750 kg the trailer needs service brakes. Over-run operation is allowed only while GTM is no more than 2,000 kg. Above 2,000 kg, braking must cover every wheel and a breakaway system must apply those brakes immediately and hold them for at least 15 minutes. An electric-braked caravan needs its compatible control equipment installed, and that hardware consumes payload too.

GVM and GCM appear in GWM's March 2026 brochure; a vehicle-side ball maximum and axle limits do not appear there or in the current ROVER RVD. A weighbridge still settles actual GVM and combination mass: cross it in touring trim, van coupled, and compare those readings with the documented limits. Record the ticket in loadmate to replace brochure estimates with measured margins. The axle reading remains incomplete until a certified ceiling is obtained, and the ball load still needs its own approved limit. The weighbridge guide covers the run. The demo rig is open without an account; Pro stores a personal setup.

Six brochure columns and a similar result at an actual 300 kg ball

GWM's current brochure prints six Tank 300 spec columns: Lux Diesel, Ultra Petrol, Ultra Diesel, Ultra Hybrid, Lux PHEV and Ultra PHEV. Kerb weight spans 460 kg and output runs from the 135 kW diesel to the 300 kW plug-in. At 3,000 kg ATM and an actual 300 kg ball, the published mass sets leave 300 kg or 310 kg to carry. That result is conditional on the still-unpublished vehicle-side ball limit; brochure coverage is not a claim that every card is currently orderable.

The diesel is the only current Tank 300 that cannot sit at full GVM and tow the full brochure rating. At its 2,880 kg GVM, the 5,580 kg GCM allows 2,700 kg of trailer. The petrol and hybrid have no GCM shortfall; the PHEV holds 36 kg spare against its 3,000 kg consumer rating. The towing-capacity chart shows that difference beside other wagons.

Caravan World reported a Tank 300 HEV towing a Titan Aerolite 451 through mixed terrain and described the combination positively. The van's published tare was 1,990 kg, but its loaded test mass and loaded ball were not stated, nor were sag, axle tickets or towing consumption. Chasing Cars recorded 8.4 L/100 km in an unladen Ultra Diesel, while GoAuto's unladen test reported high-nine to low-10 with a best of 8.7. Those numbers do not predict fuel use with a van.

A current-model owner review published on 18 April 2026 records 23,000 km in three months through the Oodnadatta, Pilbara and Kimberley without a fault. It reports no towing measurements, so it is useful current-use context rather than proof of heavy-tow reliability.

GWM Tank 300 Hi4-T PHEV: 300 kW, 3,000 kg and 310 kg to carry

The Hi4-T PHEV arrived in Lux and Ultra in April 2026. Its petrol engine and 120 kW motor make 300 kW and 750 Nm combined, and its 37.11 kWh battery is rated to 115 km NEDC. Kerb weight is 2,615 kg, GVM 3,225 kg and GCM 6,261 kg. The consumer brochure caps braked tow at 3,000 kg and omits a vehicle-side ball maximum. The current ROVER applicant record instead lists 3,300 kg for the PHEV, a public discrepancy that does not justify advertising more than GWM's lower current consumer figure without VIN-specific confirmation.

At an actual 300 kg ball, 3,225 - 300 - 2,615 leaves 310 kg to carry, if the vehicle and components permit that load. At full GVM and the brochure's 3,000 kg trailer rating, GCM still has 36 kg spare. The trailer remains capped by the lower published 3,000 kg consumer rating unless the applicable approved record and GWM's VIN-specific advice establish otherwise.

Which caravan suits a 3,000 kg Tank 300, and which suits a 2,500 kg one

For a car confirmed at 3,000 kg, use 1,800 to 2,500 kg ATM as a planning band rather than a pass. A 2,500 kg van with an actual 250 kg ball leaves roughly 350 kg in a current diesel; a 3,000 kg van at an actual 300 kg leaves 300 kg. Measure the particular van and first establish the Tank 300's vehicle-side ball limit, because neither a percentage estimate nor a 300 kg-rated accessory bar supplies that approval.

A car confirmed under the earlier 2,500 kg approval needs its own sum. An earlier hybrid carried 420 kg of published GVM payload, not 600. An actual 250 kg ball would leave 170 kg on the GVM side before any lower GCM or axle constraint; at an actual 200 kg ball that vehicle-side figure becomes 220 kg. Use the individual car's approved GCM and other limits rather than turning those GVM subtractions into a universal residual. On those cars the van is chosen around the approved records and measured load, not an assumed date cutoff.

Can I Tow It? gives a free first screen of one wagon and van against published GVM, GCM and braked tow, while the caravan weights guide separates ATM, GTM and ball mass. Any pass (well matched) result remains incomplete until the omitted vehicle-side ball and axle limits are confirmed. Keep the vehicle's approved GVM unless its VIN carries second-stage approval documented on a replacement plate. loadmate supports the calculation and weighbridge record; it does not certify the rig, as the safety disclaimer explains.

What holds the rating is the individual approval, not the model name or an announcement date. Two Tank 300s can sit side by side, the same shape and the same paint, one approved to pull 3,000 kg and one 2,500 kg, with a towbar stamp that can lower either answer again. Confirm the VIN and approved records, then read the bar before the van is chosen. The arithmetic comes afterwards.