Toyota takes all-hybrid plunge with its best-selling US vehicle
[DETROIT] Toyota Motor is scrapping the petrol-powered version of its best-selling vehicle in the US as the Japanese carmaker doubles down on its push into hybrids.
The latest generation of the RAV4 compact crossover available later this year comes equipped with a standard or plug-in hybrid powertrain, dropping the gas-powered option that makes up the bulk of current sales, the company said on Thursday (May 22). The move follows last year's shift to an all-hybrid Camry sedan.
'The success overall that we have had with selling hybrids gave us complete confidence we could do it with this car too,' Mark Templin, Toyota Motor's chief operating officer in the US, said of the new RAV4.
Toyota has long been sceptical on the industry push to go all-in on fully electric vehicles (EVs), opting instead for a multipronged approach that sees a place for hybrids, gas-guzzlers and even hydrogen-powered cars in its lineup. While the slow roll out of EVs left the carmaker open to criticism, the strategy has helped Toyota weather a cooling in demand for all-electric cars.
At the same time, demand for hybrids has skyrocketed in recent years and Toyota has emerged as the US market leader. Electrified models accounted for more than half of Toyota and Lexus volume in the US in the first three months of the year, up from just 37 per cent in the same period a year ago.
A 25 per cent US tariff poses a major threat to the new RAV4, with imports accounting for more than 60 per cent of US sales volume. Nearly half the 475,000 RAV4s sold in the US last year came from Canada and almost 20 per cent were made in Japan. The company has not disclosed pricing as it awaits more clarity on trade policy.
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Templin said Toyota does not plan to stop importing RAV4s from its factories in Ontario and Japan, and remains hopeful for some reprieve on tariffs from US President Donald Trump's administration.
'We need more capacity than we can crank out of any one of those plants. We need all three of them,' Templin said. 'I believe there will be some form of tariff, I just don't think it's going to be 25 per cent.'
The RAV4 competes with similar compact crossovers such as the Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue, Hyundai Tucson and General Motors' Chevrolet Equinox. Those models also have depended on foreign production for at least some US sales volume.
The current RAV4 debuted seven years ago and has begun to show signs of age. It ranked sixth of eight in a comparison test by Car and Driver magazine. But it's still the top-selling vehicle outside of pickups.
Hybrid options
Michael Speigl, dealer principal at a Toyota in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said he's confident the new version will be a hit with buyers, noting the current RAV4 hybrid is among his dealership's most popular vehicles.
'I'm not in the business of second-guessing Toyota,' Speigl said. 'The numbers speak for themselves.'
Toyota has vowed by this year to offer an electrified option for every model it makes globally. So far, just under 80 per cent of Toyota and its Lexus brand models sold in the US offer a hybrid or fully electric powertrain. The carmaker sells two all-electric vehicles in the US and last week announced plans to sell a third EV next year.
The latest RAV4 is not a complete redo: It uses the same chassis and underpinnings as the current version, and borrows the Camry's hybrid powertrain. The hybrid version of the current model starts at US$32,300, which is about US$3,000 more than the cheapest gas-only RAV4.
Templin said Toyota aims to keep the vehicle affordable to new car buyers at the lower end of the scale.
'I'm not saying it's going to be below US$30,000, but it needs to stay in that entry-level price,' he said. 'And a lot of that depends on what happens with tariffs.'
The sixth generation of the RAV4, a model which made its US debut in 1996, boosts output by as much as 236 horsepower, up from 219 currently. Toyota did not specify expected fuel economy, but the plug-in's electric-only mode range grows to 80 kilometres, which is 20 per cent greater than the current version.
That vehicle is made by Toyota Industries, which is the target of a takeover bid by Toyota Motor chairman Akio Toyoda. BLOOMBERG
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