Crowned as the top selling new car in July 2024, the Toyota RAV4 will flooding fleet carparks to fill the backlog of orders that have grown since it made hybrids cool back in 2019.
It’s become a victim of its own success with some fleets have waited two years for vehicles to arrive. Earlier in 2024, Fleet Auto News was being told by Fleet Managers ‘enough is enough. We can’t wait any longer’.
Then, Toyota flexed its production muscle and RAV4 sales sailed past 5,000 units in April to claim the top spot for the first time ever. Of the record 5,933 RAV4s sold in July, 93.4 per cent of those were hybrids.
Toyota’s fuel-saving hybrid technology resonates more strongly than ever with official figures showing a monthly record 12,686 Hybrid Electric (HEV) sales across all Toyota model lines, demonstrating the improving supply to satisfy customers’ ever-increasing demand for hybrid-electric powertrains.
The 12,686 hybrid sales marked only the second time that Toyota has sold 10,000 hybrids in a month, and the second time that hybrid powertrains outsold all other fuel types with 55.9 per cent of the 22,705 July tally – its highest percentage on record.
The switch to a hybrid-only range on multiple model lines range saw HEV sales also dominate for the Camry (94.5 per cent), Corolla sedan and hatch (96 per cent), Corolla Cross (99.4 per cent) and Kluger (86.6 per cent).
Overall, the strength in the new vehicle market has continued with a new July record of 99,486 sales. This result is 2.7 per cent higher than the July 2023 result which was the previous highest July on record.
FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said the result would have exceeded 100,000 if Tesla and Polestar sales were included in the VFACTS numbers.
“This is a remarkable achievement in an economy featuring widespread cost of living pressures. It was also interesting to note that while sales in the Business and Government segments were up 13.7 per cent and 37.5 per cent respectively, Private sales were down 4.2 per cent.”
Mr Weber added there were several important points coming from the July result.
“Consistent with trends in many overseas markets, sales of hybrid vehicles are up 88.4 per cent and plug-in hybrid vehicles are up 128.9 per cent compared with July 2023. Sales of battery electric vehicles – with the inclusion of the reported Tesla (2592) and Polestar (103) results – are currently at 6.6 per cent of the market, down from 7.0 per cent in 2023.
“The hybrid performance is highlighted by the fact that the Toyota RAV4 was the top-selling vehicle for the month ahead of Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux. Most RAV4 sales are hybrids.
“While the first seven months of 2024 have exceeded expectations, the industry remains cautious about the future pending the implementation of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard coupled with the economic conditions,” Mr Weber said.
Toyota was the market leader with sales of 22,705 in July, followed by Mazda (8,476), Ford (7,749,) Kia (6,620) and Hyundai (6,021).
The top five selling vehicles in July 2024 were:
- Toyota RAV4 – 5,933 (mainly hybrid)
- Ford Ranger – 4,915 (Diesel)
- Toyota HiLux – 4,747 (Diesel)
- Toyota Corolla – 2,688 (Mainly hybrid)
- Toyota Landcruiser – 2,464 (Diesel)
