It turns out Toyota wasn’t joking when it said it had thousands of outstanding orders to fill for the popular Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.

The Japanese car giant is making good on its promise to clear its backlog of orders after the waiting list stretched up to two years at its peak.

The waiting time for the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid has been slashed to just a few months and in some cases buyers can take immediate delivery.

Reflecting this, the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid has just blitzed a new sales record in Australia, according to official data for August 2024 released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

Indeed, deliveries of the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid are now so strong the nameplate is a chance at taking out top honours in the annual new-car sales race for 2024.

Toyota was the first brand in Australia to top the new-car sales charts with a ute (when the HiLux went on to seven annual wins in a row).

And now Toyota could be the first brand in Australia to top the new-car sales charts with an SUV – if it can overtake the Ford Ranger which is currently well on track for the Number One spot for the second year in a row.

So far this year to the end of August, here are the top three challengers for Number One in the 2024 sales race:

  • Ford Ranger 43,877
  • Toyota RAV4 38,050
  • Toyota HiLux 37,758

For the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid to topple the Ford Ranger, the Toyota would need to continue to post sales records to the end of this year and Ford Ranger deliveries would need to wane.

Nevertheless, it appears there is a battle brewing.

Here are the statistics from Toyota Australia:

Toyota’s RAV4 has achieved its highest monthly sales in the model’s 30-year history, making it Australia’s best-selling vehicle for the month of August.

A total of 6712 examples of the popular mid-size SUV were delivered to local customers last month, of which almost 95 per cent were hybrids.

The RAV4 total in August was dominated by the sale of 6342 hybrids – a tally that would have enabled the petrol-electric variants to top the sales chart in their own right.

RAV4 was the biggest contributor to Toyota’s market-leading August total of 21,490 vehicles, which translates into a market share of 21.9 per cent.

It is the third time RAV4 has been Australia’s best-selling vehicle this year and the fifth time overall.

August was the sixth consecutive monthly record for RAV4 and the first time the model has exceeded 6000 sales in a month. The previous record of 5933 deliveries was set in July this year. 

The only Toyota vehicle that has posted a higher monthly total is HiLux with 7582 vehicles in June 2022.

Well over half (55.5 per cent) of Toyota’s August total, or 11,931 vehicles, were equipped with hybrid-electric powertrains.

August was the third time Toyota’s hybrids have topped 10,000 deliveries in a month. It was also the third time in four months that more than half Toyota’s sales have been hybrid.

Toyota has now sold a record 81,378 hybrids this year, which represents 49.2 per cent of the company’s total deliveries.

In a speech to media attending the local launch of the new Toyota Camry in Melbourne today, Toyota Australia sales and marketing boss Sean Hanley said:

For the month of August, we delivered 21,490 vehicles for a share of 21.9 per cent. This is the fifth consecutive month we’ve topped 20,000 sales.

That’s a remarkable stat. No other carmaker has been able to compile five months in a row at that level.

And we’ve only ever done it once before – and that was during our all-time record year of 2008.

As a result, our sales this year are averaging more than 20,000 a month.

And our year-to-date total is almost 32,000 ahead of the same stage of 2023.

To the end of August, we’re just 145 (sales) shy of where we were at the same stage in that record-breaking year of 2008.

Of course, our sales report gets even more interesting when we talk about hybrid.

Last month, customers drove away in 11,931 Toyota hybrids.

That’s an August record and represents 55.5 per cent of our total deliveries.

It’s the third time our hybrids have topped 10,000 deliveries in a month.

And it’s the third time in four months that more than half our sales have been hybrid.

So far this year, our hybrid share is sitting at 49.2 per cent. (YTD sales are 81,378)

Now, for the really big news. Our incredible RAV4.

Look at this total for August: 6712 vehicles. Let me repeat that number: 6-7-1-2. It’s the highest RAV4 number in the model’s 30 years in this country.

And it means that RAV4 – once again – is the best-selling vehicle in the country. That’s the third time this year, and the fifth time overall.

It’s also the sixth straight monthly record for this model. And it’s the first time we’ve delivered more than 6000 RAV4 SUVs in a single month. The previous RAV4 record was set just one month earlier, in July.

In fact, only one Toyota has ever hit a higher number in a single month. No surprises – it was HiLux and, even then, it only happened once, in June of 2022. 

Now, let’s drill down to the RAV4 hybrid tally. In August, it was 6342 – another all-time record.

In other words, the RAV4 Hybrid was Australia’s best-selling car in its own right. Again.

Now, you’ll be thinking that some of this volume is catch-up. And you’d be right. But let me tell you three things about these numbers.

One. The average wait time for RAV4 is now under four months – and getting shorter. Two. The stock keeps coming. And three. Our order intake remains strong.

Now, you’ll recall that, in the past, we have talked about the true level of demand for hybrids. You’ll also recall that we copped some flak when we did, in certain quarters at least.

Today, though … what these and recent monthly figures make abundantly clear … is that we were talking the market truth – a truth that wasn’t reflected, for quite a long time, when the monthly sales figures landed.

Perhaps the most remarkable fact is that people kept ordering hybrids even as the wait lists grew – and that was especially the case with RAV4 and Camry.

And that reflects another market truth … That there’s huge demand for hybrid because it is a capable, practical and affordable way for consumers to get the performance and other features they want. And, at the same time, reduce their fuel consumption compared with an equivalent petrol-only car.

To me, a huge amount of credit for today’s “beautiful set of numbers” goes back to 2001 when Toyota dared to introduce the first Prius in Australia.

Today’s numbers are also further evidence that our multi-pathway strategy is the right approach.

It’s all about offering choice, meeting the needs and desires of all Australian customers, leaving no-one behind.