Toyota RAV4 sets Australian sales record as more backorders cleared

More than 5000 Toyota RAV4 family SUVs have been reported as sold in a single month for the first time in Australia, thanks to a boost in production which is helping to clear back-orders – and cut wait times.

The RAV4 was Australia's top-selling passenger car/SUV in March 2024 – and the second-best selling vehicle overall, behind the Ford Ranger ute – with 5070 deliveries, according to Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) data released today.

It beats the previous Toyota RAV4 record of 4825 deliveries reported in August 2020 – and is one of the few occasions in recent years an SUV has eclipsed 5000 sales in a month.

The sales data reflects the number of new vehicles delivered last month – rather than how many customers placed a deposit – and the majority of RAV4 deliveries reported were likely ordered last year or in 2022.

Toyota executives have previously said demand for the company's cars is now back to pre-COVID levels – and down from the record demand for new cars which happened in 2022 in the wake of the pandemic.

Toyota Australia says 93.3 per cent of RAV4s delivered last month – or 4728 examples – were hybrids. It eclipses the previous hybrid sales record of 4405 recorded in August 2020.

A record 13,935 new hybrid cars and SUVs were reported as sold last month – of which 9244, or 66 per cent wore a Toyota badge.

Hybrid and electric vehicles – when the 103 Toyota BZ4X electric SUVs sold are included – accounted for 49.3 per cent of Toyota sales last month.

The estimated wait time on a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is currently about 12 months – though it is forecast to drop to between four and six months in the second half of the year as production continues to improve.

Toyota Australia sales and marketing boss Sean Hanley forecast the boom in RAV4 sales in March in an interview with Drive last month.

"We’ve had a hard run in the last couple of years. I think there’ll be a lot of happy RAV4 Hybrid customers over the next few months.

"Certainly, we’re seeing that order bank come down quite quickly. We said March, onwards, that would come into effect, so I think you’ll see strength in RAV4 numbers.

"Here’s the interesting thing on that RAV4 Hybrid, you’d think that after two or three years after [some customers placed their orders], you’d have massive cancellations.

"Well, we’ve had cancellations, that’s true, but nowhere near what people would have thought. People have stayed loyal to that car."

The record result for the current RAV4 – introduced five years ago – is despite a new-generation model being about 12 to 18 months away, Drive has previously reported.

Many customers at the back of the queue today – who may face a long wait time due to a particular colour combination or model grade – could be one of the first to take delivery of the next model.