Toyota RAV4 sales surpass Aussie favourites, HiLux and Ranger

An Aussie favourite sets new sales records, driven by surge in Hybrids, despite market challenges.

The Toyota RAV4 has emerged as Australia’s best-selling vehicle for August with 6,712 units sold, outdoing Toyota HiLux and the Ford Ranger.

Despite an overall decline in new car deliveries, 8.3 per cent lower than August 2023, the Toyota RAV4 continued to dominate.

The mid-size SUV has now set a monthly sales record for the sixth consecutive time, with August being the first month the model has surpassed 6,000 sales.

What’s even more impressive is 95 per cent of sales were hybrids.

This is the highest RAV4 number in the model’s 30 years in this country.

2022 Toyota RAV4 Edge Hybrid. Picture: Supplied

The RAV4’s success contributed to Toyota’s overall market performance, with the automaker delivering a total of 21,490 vehicles for August, capturing 21.9 per cent share of the Australian market.

This marks the fifth consecutive month that Toyota has surpassed 20,000 sales, a feat that hasn’t been achieved by the brand since 2008, nor by any other automaker.

As of the end of August, Toyota’s year-to-date sales stand at 165,496 units, averaging more than 20,000 vehicles per month.

This puts the brand nearly 32,000 units ahead of its sales figures at the same point in 2023.

Remarkably, Toyota is just 145 units short of where it stood at the same stage in 2008 which suggests that Toyota will likely have a record-breaking year if this momentum continues.

The RAV4 Hybrid was News Corps Car of the Year for 2019. Picture: Kevin Farmer

A significant contributor to Toyota’s record-breaking streak is the booming demand for its hybrid models.

In August, hybrid vehicles made up 55.5 per cent of Toyota’s total sales, with 11,931 hybrid units sold.

This marks the third time in four months that hybrids have accounted for more than half of Toyota’s sales.

Toyota’s numbers are impressive given the production constraints

the industry faced in recent years, largely driven by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

For Toyota, the production slowdowns meant longer wait time for customers, particularly for its highly sought-after hybrid models like the RAV4 and Camry.

But many consumers were willing to endure the extended wait times to purchase a vehicle.

Toyota’s Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations Sean Hanley acknowledged that some of this volume is “catch-up” but the sales results solidify the appetite of hybrid technology in the Australian market.

Toyota’s sales reflect the strong demand for hybrids. Picture: Supplied

“The average wait time for a RAV4 is now under four months and getting shorter, the stock keeps coming in and our order intake remains strong,” he said.

As Hanley explained the RAV4 was Australia’s best-selling car “in its own right”.

“Our strategy is all about offering choice to meet the needs and desire of all Australian customers, leaving no-one behind,

“This includes our extensive hybrid range headlined by the addition of a new Camry; the space, style and comfort of our SUVs; and the ability to tow heavy loads and get off the beaten track in one of our four-wheel drives,” he said.