Toyota Rav4 Is Selling So Fast That Customers Are On The Waiting List

Trying to buy a new Toyota RAV4 lately? You’re not alone. The redesigned SUV is so popular that some dealers have hundreds of customers waiting, while others see inventory vanish before arriving.

Toyota is building the 2026 RAV4 in the US to meet demand, starting at its Kentucky factory. However, dealer lots still won’t be full of unsold RAV4s. Longo Toyota in California has 800+ customers waiting despite delivering over 200 in May. In Florida, Earl Stewart Toyota sold all incoming RAV4s before customers saw them. Toyota says the shortage is self-inflicted, caused by months of factory conversions to build the hybrid-only RAV4, which limited supply but maintained quality.

Regarding the current market demand, Toyota division sales chief Damon Rose noted to Automotive News, “It’s so hot, we’re counting inventory in hours’ supply right now, not days”, adding that the manufacturer achieved a turn rate of 97.6 percent last month.

To ensure a seamless market introduction, Toyota reportedly deployed early-production vehicles nationwide for extensive real-world testing before scaling up volume production. According to Rose, the company logged more than 700,000 miles (1,130,000 km) of testing across diverse driving conditions before the model became available to consumers.

While these extensive testing measures may have resolved initial technical concerns, they did not fundamentally address the Toyota RAV4’s persistent drawbacks, specifically its noisy powertrain and lacklustre interior quality. Although the latest iteration represents a clear improvement over its predecessor, it remains an imperfect vehicle.

Nevertheless, these shortcomings appear to have little impact on consumer demand. Even with production now underway in Kentucky, Toyota anticipates that annual sales will fall short of their full potential due to persistent supply constraints. While this is a challenge most manufacturers would welcome, it remains a significant hurdle for the carmaker.

• Also See: With 2.1 Million Sold, The Toyota C-HR Marks Ten Years On The Market