Toyota will stick to its winning formula for the next-generation RAV4 midsize SUV expected to debut in 2025.
Future versions of the Toyota RAV4 – including the next-generation version tipped to debut next year – will not “mess up” the formula set by the current model, according to brand executives.
Automotive News spoke to Toyota North America executives about the future of the RAV4 midsize SUV, which is Toyota’s best-selling model worldwide – and the most-popular SUV in Australia.
Toyota North America product planning boss Cooper Ericksen said customers have “spoken clearly with what they want with the RAV4”.
“The size, the packaging, the level of performance, technology. We could sell 500,000 of those things a year [in the US] if we could build them, so we do not want to mess up that formula,” said Ericksen.
“If we were to change, it wouldn’t be a dramatic change.”
To improve on the current model in future versions of the RAV4, Ericksen said Toyota would modernise it, keep an eye on its competitors – which include the Mazda CX-5, Nissan X-Trail and Honda CR-V – and ensure it meets emissions standards in the markets where it is sold. The executive did not confirm when the next RAV4 will launch as Toyota does not typically comment on future product.
“It’s interesting how RAV has turned into our Camry over the last 10 years in terms of total sales, but it’s just hitting the market with the right product at the right time,” added Andrew Gilleland, the head of automotive operations at Toyota Motor North America.
In 2023, Drive exclusively reported the next-generation Toyota RAV4 is due in Australian showrooms in 2025, pending any delays.
There are little details known about the next RAV4, however it is likely to follow other recent Toyota models – including the new C-HR and Prius – in adopting new bodywork over carry-over or revised TNGA-K underpinnings, rather than an all-new platform.
It could also follow the new Camry and C-HR in going hybrid-only globally – after the current RAV4 switched to a hybrid-only line-up in Australia in June following record sales locally.
While wait times for the RAV4 Hybrid peaked at two and a half years in Australia following the COVID-19 pandemic, it has now fallen to approximately four months, according to Toyota Australia.
More than 95 per cent of RAV4 sales were already hybrids before Toyota Australia decided to discontinue petrol-only variants – a decision also applied to all other Toyota vehicles offered with petrol-electric hybrid power, except GR performance models.
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