Plug pulled: GWM Tank 300 feature removed

The GWM Tank 300 off-road SUV is no longer fitted with a handy feature months after it launched in Australia.

WhichCar understands GWM Tank 300 examples built for the Australian market from November 2023 no longer include a 220-volt, 120-watt power outlet in the luggage area.

GWM Australia has deleted all references to the power outlet in the latest version of the Tank 300’s specification list. There are no price changes for the updated model.

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Image: GWM Tank 300 missing power socket, courtesy GWM Tank 300 Owners Australia

The feature was previously fitted to the range-topping Tank 300 Ultra petrol and hybrid, with a multi-standard international power socket that could recharge phones and laptops, and power small consumer appliances such as portable fridges.

WhichCar contacted GWM Australia for comment about the removal of the power socket in the Tank 300, but the brand did not respond.

While GWM has not confirmed the reason for the deletion, the AS/NZS 3112:2017 Standard (‘Approval and test specification – Plugs and socket-outlets’) specifically requires the installation of the common Australia and New Zealand three-pin pattern plug, not a universal socket.

It is unclear if GWM plans to re-introduce the feature into the Tank 300 Ultra with an Australia and New Zealand pattern plug.

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In 2021, Ford Australia removed an international power port similar to that fitted to the GWM Tank 300 from the Ranger, Everest and Transit due to the AS/NZS 3112:2017 Standard.

The Ford vehicles had been sold in Australia with an international power socket as early as 2013 before the trip-up was noticed in 2021.

Ford plans to fit three 240-volt power outlets with an Australian standard plug in the Ranger Plug-In Hybrid due here in 2025.

It has not confirmed whether other Ranger variants, or future versions of the Everest and Transit, will receive the feature again.