GWM Tank Global Sales: 2021-2026 (Q1-Q3)

GWM's Tank brand had an unusual start. The Wey Tank 300 went on sale right at the end of 2020 but by early 2021, it was spun off as a stand alone brand. Decisions are made quickly in China.

As Wey is more upmarket than Tank, perhaps it should have started as a brand in its own right. Perhaps GWM was unsure that Tank could generate enough in sales to justify starting alone.

Sales were strong and the decision was swiftly made. In 2021, 84,600 were sold. This was achieved with one model! Clearly, the brand had a future. 

2022 went better, with 123,900 deliveries and up 46%. The 500 model joined the brand in March, which gave Tank some impetus. Exports started mid year, Saudi Arabia the first overseas market.

2023 had sales up 31% to 162,500. It was already claiming 13% of global GWM sales. The Middle East was keen on the brand, with rugged SUVs always strongly embraced.

The news just kept getting better, with 231,000 sales (+42%) in 2024. Cumulative sales passed 700,000, and it was proving profitable as well. 28,600 found homes in Russia alone. 

Tank braked hard in 2025, with just a 1% increase. The local market was cooling but exports helped Tank keep an even keel. Was this a one year situation or would 2026 follow the same path?

2026 sales are down 14% YOY so a very successful Q4 is required to avoid Tank's first year of decline. Disruptions in the Middle East may not be helpful. Tank currently contributed 15.5% of all GWM sales. It's certainly not gone far enough to say sales are tanking. 

Data source: GWM. Models (GWM NZ): Tank 500 above & 300 below.

GWM Wey Global Sales: 2022-26 (Q1-Q3)

After a strong start in its first full year of 2018, things had been challenging for the brand. 

In 2022, the lowest point ever was achieved with just 36,400 sales (down 38%). The Wey Mocha model more than halved from 28,500 units to 13,300. The line up was overcrowded, the names confusing and prices were high. What could possibly go wrong?

2023 saw a revamped design, new flagship models and emphasis on new energy vehicles all helped to improve things. Sales were up 14% to 41,600 but a long way to go. 

2024 was again an improvement, with 54,700 sales (+32%). It wasn't anything dramatic, just doing a lot of things a little bit better. 

2025 was up hugely to 102,000 (+86%). Clearly, the brand is being run much better. 

In 2026, sales for nine months are 66,600, up 5% YOY despite being down 35% on a complete 2025. Q4 2025 was a big quarter so if that can be repeated, another increase is on the cards, albeit down on recent gains. 

Exports are going to be prioritised, something Wey hasn't been big on. That may explain some of the poorer results as the Chinese market remains sluggish. So a Wey may soon be coming your way.

Data source: GWM. 
Photos: Wey V8x & Gaoshan models. 

GWM Wey Global Sales: 2017-21

Great Wall Motors introduced Wey in 2017 as an upmarket alternative to Haval. Things stated out well with sales reached 86,400 units. The models were a medium crossover (VV7 - pic above) followed later in the year by a small crossover (VV5 - pic below). 

2018 was a successful year with 139,500 deliveries and a 61% increase. While that looked good, the latter part of the year was not so buoyant. A reputation for high fuel use in a tightening market didn't go down too well.

In 2019, sales dropped 28% to 100,000. Wey's original core models experienced a massive customer exodus. 

As an example, the VV7 model sales tumbled from over 54,000 in 2018 to under 20,000 units in 2019 due to online criticism over heavy bodies leading to high fuel consumption and sluggish dual-clutch transmission shifts. 

Moving on to 2020, another 22% was shed from sales. Now down to 78,500, about half of the volume just two years prior. 

The turmoils of the year didn't affect GWM as a whole but the Wey division was not coping well. Could there be a turnaround in fortunes? Was there no way out? (Pun alert).

In 2021 it got worse. 58,400 sales (-26%). Foundation models were being replaced by ones named after coffee! Haval was slowly moving more upmarket, making Wey less relevant. The semiconductor shortage also hurt.

Did the Wey brand still have any relevance within GWM?  Find out in part two, when it arrives.