Waiting times improving for Toyota hybrids, including RAV4

Toyota says supply of its popular hybrids is improving, and it won’t pause orders of popular models just like the RAV4 because it recently did with the Camry.

It’s understood the typical wait time for the RAV4 Hybrid continues to be currently sitting between 12 to 24 months, depending on the variant, with some customers cancelling their orders as a consequence of the lengthy wait.

These long wait times mightn’t be sticking around though as Toyota Australia has indicated production for the RAV4 Hybrid, amongst other models, is ready to enhance throughout 2024.

“Given what we all know today, our production plans through to mid-2024 should see customer wait times improve progressively and substantially for many models in our range, including RAV4 Hybrid,” said a Toyota Australia spokesperson.

“At this stage, given the much-improved hybrid production outlook, we’ve got no plans to introduce an order pause on other models.

“We’re committed to being transparent and keeping our customers and dealers informed of any developments.”

Toyota says its hybrid vehicle order bank and ongoing demand remain strong.

Despite the long wait to take delivery of a brand new RAV4 Hybrid, Toyota says customers have largely been sticking it out.

“People can and do cancel orders for a wide range of reasons; nonetheless, we’ve got not seen any marked difference in the general cancellation rate during what has been a period of extremely high demand for RAV4 Hybrid,” the spokesperson said.

“We deeply appreciate the patience of consumers waiting for delivery and thank them for his or her ongoing loyalty to Toyota.

As recently reported, Toyota paused orders of the Camry Hybrid in Australia within the face of “extraordinary demand”.

The corporate claims 90 per cent of Camry buyers are choosing the hybrid, with the one non-hybrid Camry variant now being the entry-level Ascent.

Toyota now offers hybrid versions of its Yaris, Yaris Cross, C-HR, Corolla, Corolla Cross, RAV4, Camry and Kluger locally.

While the Camry Hybrid has no direct competition, the RAV4 Hybrid now has rivals from brands like GWM and Nissan. Nevertheless, this doesn’t appear to have dented its popularity.

Launched in 2019, the RAV4 has received quite a few running changes, with essentially the most recent update being the introduction of Toyota’s latest infotainment system that debuted within the Corolla Cross.

The XSE, Cruiser and Edge variants now receive a bigger 10.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, with the cheaper GX and GXL sticker around a smaller 8.0-inch touchscreen but upgrading from a 4.2-inch to a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster.

There’s cloud-based satellite navigation on all models, with XSE variants and up getting a new-look embedded satellite navigation system. The RAV4 now also supports over-the-air software updates.

Pricing currently starts at $39,760 before on-roads for the GX 2WD, and extends to $58,360 before on-roads for the Edge Hybrid AWD.