An SUV could become Australia's most popular new car for the first time ever this year, but Toyota concedes the final sales result is going to be close.
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The Toyota RAV4 has topped the sales chart in five of the 10 months for which VFACTS data is available in 2024, and it's currently the second best selling model year-to-date, behind only the Ford Ranger ute.
A total of 48,073 new RAV4 vehicles have been sold in Australia to the end of October, compared to 53,119 examples of the Ranger in the same period.
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If the RAV4 becomes Australia's best-selling model this year, it'll be the first time since 2015 that a ute hasn't taken the top spot.
When asked whether the popular mid-sized SUV could claim the annual outright sales title for the first time, Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations Sean Hanley told CarExpert that RAV4 demand is beyond anything the brand ever expected.
"I'd love to dream of that and, to be quite frank with you, it's going to be close," said Mr Hanley.
"I think RAV[4] will finish the year incredibly strong. In fact… we're still delivering orders from an order bank.
"Although we're not delivering 12-month-old orders anymore, we've kind of caught that up, so wait times have well and truly dropped.
"But demand for that car, even now, even in the very month that I'm sitting here speaking to you, is defying gravity. It's huge. It's beyond anything we could have expected.
"So I think that it's quite conceivable that an SUV, if not this year… it could be the number one selling car within the next year or two.
"An SUV, whether that's RAV[4] or [one from] some other brand, that'll be determined.
"But given what's going to happen in the ute market, I'd be very surprised if an SUV, at some point, sooner than later, is not the number one selling car in Australia for the first time ever."
As previously reported, delivery wait times for the RAV4 Hybrid have more than halved from where that sat during COVID. It's now around six months between a new RAV4 order and delivery, compared to peak wait times of over 24 months.
Earlier this year, Toyota Australia axed petrol versions of the RAV4, making the range now exclusively hybrid-only.
Pricing currently starts at $42,260 before on-road costs for the GX Hybrid, and extends to $58,360 plus on-roads for the Edge Hybrid AWD flagship.
MORE: Everything Toyota RAV4
Content originally sourced from: CarExpert.com.au
