Diesel is not dead and long live the V8 says GWM

GWM isn’t quitting on diesel or V8 engines. Reuben van Niekerk chatted to the Chinese automaker’s Powertrain Director at the 2026 Festival of Motoring.

Image: GWM

GWM Powertrain Director Michele Scotti was in South Africa for the 2026 Festival of Motoring, where he helped unveil the Tank 500 and P500 double-cab bakkie powered by a brand-new 3.0-litre turbodiesel engine offering 170 kW and 620 N.m of torque. This new four-cylinder engine is said to combine power and efficiency, and will return just 7.1 L/100 km in the Tank 500 and 7.3 L/100 km in the P500. CAR magazine sat down with Scotti and Conrad Groenewald, Chief Operating Officer of GWM SA, to unpack just what this new powertrain means for the local market and what we can expect from GWM going forward.

“We asked GWM for a bigger capacity, more powerful powertrain about two years ago and here it is. This is a showcase of GWM’s engineering capabilities and how quickly our engineers can bring a new powertrain to market,” said Groenewald. “This is chapter two of rewriting the GWM story. We are starting to bring more value propositions into different segments of the market at the higher end that customers are asking for. With this new drivetrain we are catering perfectly to the South African customer.”

While many manufactures are moving away from traditional engine configurations and looking to different solutions to create more powerful and efficient engines, such as hybrids and plug-in hybrids, GWM has decided to invest in developing a new diesel engine alongside their NEV (new-energy vehicle) portfolio.

“We have a global strategy for powertrains. We have observed the trends in Europe and China in the last few years where there was a strong push for electric vehicles, but the recent market feedback is that there needs to be a slowdown of EVs and hybrids. People still like internal combustion engines for a variety of reasons. I don’t want to say that the EV bubble has burst but it has certainly levelled off,” said Scotti.

GWM understands that there are still markets that love diesel engines for the fuel efficiency, the pulling torque and the fact that one can travel long distances between refuelling. South Africa and Thailand are examples of those markets.

Image: Supplied

Developing a new powertrain in two years is impressive, but Scotti says the facilities and processes that GWM has in place make this possible. “We have a very streamlined process for developing new engines, including strong testing and simulation capabilities. So, when we are configuring the layout and architecture, we can quickly see if it will work or not, and our first prototypes can be tested in vehicles very early on in their development timeline,” explained Scotti, who did stints at GM and McLaren, and is still astounded at the capability of his new employer.

“Arriving at GWM, there was a couple of things that shocked me, including the scale of  the industrial vertical integration. We do almost everything in-house, which results in a lot of value for the customer. It also offers us a significantly reduced turnaround time and enhanced reaction to market requirements than a company in Europe that relies on an external supplier. We have proving tunnels, wind tunnels, high-heat chambers, and test facilities everywhere. We have one of the biggest crash test facilities globally and do 2 000 crash tests a year, which is huge and gives us a massive development advantage. This infrastructure really accelerates the capabilities of engineers because they have a lot of toys to play with,” said Scotti.

When questioned on how the design process differs from legacy manufacturers, Scotti was quick to point out that the same steps are taken, but just at a much quicker rate. “We use a very similar development process to European manufacturers. It is just that it takes less time to get from a final design to getting parts on the dyno. Due to the fact that we produce most of the components in-house and we can do the dyno testing in the same building, we are so much quicker. The development process is similar. It is not that we are cutting corners or doing anything strange, it is just that we can do things quicker.”

For Scotti, this has been refreshing. Free from the slow processes and tedious decision making of legacy manufacturers, he can react to market requirements more efficiently. “For me, that is something very interesting because I can get things done quicker and I can turn around a project and react to market needs swiftly,” notes Scotti. Doing everything in-house also offers massive advantages. “If we have issues there is no need for discussions with suppliers, who could say things like it was how the part was used or some other excuse. We simply sort it out,” adds Scotti.

Motorsport is calling

Image: GWM

Historically, Chinese manufacturers have not been known for their involvement in motorsport, but GWM now has its own GT3 programme and a V8 engine. Exact details are still to be revealed, but think 4.0-litre V8 and carbon-fibre monocoque levels of engineering.

“We have big ambitions and are trying to spearhead motorsport in China. We think there is a developing market for that. Motorsport and supercars tend to push the engineering envelope, so it is a great way to hone the level of engineering as one needs to be innovative in order to hit performance and weight targets,” said Scotti. “I think that, strategically, Chairman Wey wants to develop these projects for their marketing potential but also to push our own organisation to improve and hone our engineering tools,” explained Scotti.

In closing, Scotti confirmed that they are working on a road-going GT3 car that will utilise this V8 engine. “We presented a GT3 supercar platform in Beijing earlier this year, and based on that, we will develop a GT3 road car going forward,” concluded Scotti.

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