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Toyota's top-selling SUV has hit a speed bump after spending much of the past year chasing the top spot on the sales charts – but help is on the way.
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The Toyota RAV4 has recorded its lowest sales month since the start of 2024, after a record run saw it top the charts eight times in the past 12 months.
But Toyota says the dip in deliveries – to 2422 vehicles last month, down 38 per cent from 3907 a year prior – is related to a brief limitation on stock, with a greater number of cars due over the coming months.
It is not said to be an early wind-down of the current RAV4 ahead of the next-generation model, which is due in the first half of next year, pending any delays.
Last month's tally of 2422 RAV4s sold means it has slipped behind the Toyota HiLux to third place in the year-to-date sales race, though it is only down 5.4 per cent (to 24,034 cars) year-on-year thanks to strong sales in January and February.
It remained the second-best-selling mid-size SUV in the non-prestige category last month, behind the Mazda CX-5 (2582), but ahead of the Hyundai Tucson (2332), Kia Sportage (1835) and BYD Sealion 7 (1795).
A Toyota Australia spokesperson told Drive "demand for the RAV4 remains strong," and that "the result is reflective of [last] month's stock position."
They said "good supply [is] arriving in the coming months," in the lead-up to the end of the calendar year, and the arrival of the next-generation RAV4 next year.
The RAV4 came within 4000 deliveries of the Ford Ranger last year in the race to become the country's top-selling new vehicle, after leading the monthly charts in April, July, August, September, October, November and December.
It came through a ramp-up in production after severe stock shortages in the wake of the pandemic cleared, the 2024 calendar-year figure of 58,718 sales nearly double the 29,627 reported in 2023.
Both figures, however, are still ahead of where RAV4 sales were before the current model was introduced with hybrid power in 2019, when SUVs were not as popular as they are today.
Toyota reported 22,165 RAV4s as sold in 2018, at a time when its category accounted for about 174,000 annual deliveries – rather than 230,367 today.
In 2013, 16,983 RAV4s were reported as delivered – a figure eclipsed by the six top-selling models in the 'mid-size SUV under $60,000' category of the sales charts today.
Next year's new RAV4 is similar in size and underpinnings to the current model, but adds a new look, updated technology, a redesigned cabin, and a longer list of safety features.
It will complement 2.5-litre hybrid power with a new 2.5-litre plug-in hybrid option offering up to 100km of electric-only range, aimed at the BYD Sealion 6 and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.
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Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
