Toyota hybrid sales reach record high in Australia

April was a huge month for hybrids, particularly at market-leading Toyota which had two records to brag about.

For the first time, monthly deliveries of Toyota hybrids exceeded 10,000 units, while they also accounted for more than half of total brand sales.

All up, Toyota sold 10,972 hybrids, accounting for 52.8 per cent of its total tally of 20,771 vehicles.

That also meant 66 per cent of all hybrid vehicles sold in Australia in April were Toyotas.

With year-to-date sales of 35,383 vehicles, Toyota’s hybrid lineup is outselling every other brand’s complete lineup. Second-place Ford, for example, has sold 31,323 vehicles so far this year.

Toyota says it sold more hybrids last month alone than it did in any calendar year prior to 2018.

The Toyota RAV4 was Australia’s best-selling vehicle in April, with 5857 examples sold. That was a record tally for Toyota’s mid-sized SUV, beating the record set just the month prior.

A whopping 94 per cent of these – or 5504 in total – were hybrid models. That was another record for the RAV4.

Despite its popularity, this was only the third month in the RAV4’s history where it topped the Australian sales charts. It previously did so in July and August 2020.

Toyota has been working to slash wait times for the RAV4 – which had previously faced waits of as long as 24 months – as well as other hybrid models like the Corolla hatch and C-HR.

The company says average wait times for these models will be “back to normal” by the end of June, at three to four months or potentially even lower.

“Record deliveries are not a goal in themselves,” said Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia’s vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations.

“They highlight the pent-up demand for hybrids and the success being achieved in substantially reducing customer wait times.

“While it would be easy to assume this result is simply driven by historic demand, it is not the full picture. Customer orders in April remained high, demonstrating a growing number of Australians are seeking fuel-efficient hybrids that are practical, capable and affordable.”

Toyota now exclusively offers its Yaris, Yaris Cross and C-HR with hybrid power in Australia.

Other Toyota models that offer a hybrid option include the Camry, Corolla, Corolla Cross, Kluger and RAV4.

There are currently no hybrid body-on-frame utes or SUVs in Toyota Australia showrooms, however, though the brand has introduced a mild-hybrid version of its HiLux ute.

Toyota has debuted a hybrid version of its new-generation Prado overseas, but it hasn’t been locked in for our market. Instead, the local-spec Prado will use a mild-hybrid turbo-diesel engine like the HiLux.