GWM’s updated Cannon ute is starting to arrive at Australian dealerships now, and the company claims it will have enough stock in the coming months that it may rise in the annual ute sales charts.
Last year a total of 8163 examples of the pre-update GWM Ute, plus a handful of the updated Cannon, were sold.
This saw it outsold by the many utes in the segment, but it did still outsell other budget-oriented utes like the LDV T60 (6330 sales), and SsangYong Musso (3197 sales).
Speaking with CarExpert, GWM Australia head of marketing and communications Steve Maciver said the company plans to have an average of over 1000 Cannons arrive each month.
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So far this year, a total of 635 examples of the pre-update GWM Ute and updated GWM Cannon were sold.
With 11 months left in the year however, this could theoretically see the annual sales figure fall between 11,000 and 12,000, if GWM’s projected supply claim is correct and it has demand to match.
Going off 2024’s sales figures, this could see the GWM Cannon potentially outsell the likes of the Nissan Navara and Volkswagen Amarok.
GWM itself has said a lot of new Cannon buyers are stepping out of Nissan Navaras and Mitsubishi Tritons, though it claims it doesn’t see these as “any more of a target or competitor” than any other ute on sale.
As previously reported, GWM has finally dropped the generic Ute name for its ute, rebranding it as the Cannon, which it already used on every trim level of the pre-update Ute anyway.
The lineup has been pared back to four trim levels for the time being and they’re only available in dual-cab pickup configuration. GWM has confirmed however, the cab-chassis body style is returning within the next couple of months.
At launch all GWM Cannons feature a 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine borrowed from the larger Cannon Alpha, producing 135kW of power and 480Nm of torque, which are increases of 15kW and 80Nm over the smaller 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel the pre-update Ute had.
This smaller turbo-diesel engine is set to return though in entry-level dual-cab pickup and cab-chassis variants in the coming months, according to GWM.
Other highlight changes the Cannon has received with this mid-life update is finally a segment benchmark 3500kg braked towing capacity, redesigned exterior and interior design, as well as a larger 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
MORE: Everything GWM Cannon
