Toyota RAV4 Hybrid wait time blows out to three years

If you’re in the market for any of Toyota’s most popular new models, be prepared for an even longer delivery wait time than we previously reported just two months ago.

At the time, Toyota Australia sales chief Sean Hanley apologised for wait times of up to two years for the Japanese brand’s most popular models, including the RAV4 Hybrid and LandCruiser 70 Series, which remains off sale until it clears a back-order list stretching out to 2024.

The world’s and Australia’s biggest auto brand has publicly apologised repeatedly for the unprecedented delay with new-vehicle deliveries due to the global semi-conductor shortage and other pandemic-related production issues, which led to a 31 per cent sales slump in February.

Now, Toyota dealers and other carsales sources have confirmed even longer average waiting times of up to four years for the Camry Hybrid, three years for the RAV4 Hybrid and two years for the LandCruiser 70 Series, but as little as four months for the LandCruiser 300 Series – down from 12 months.

Unlike other auto brands like Ford, which lists average wait times for each model on its website, or Volkswagen, which offers potential customer an even more accurate stock locator tool on its website, Toyota advises customers to contact their local dealer for accurate wait times on specific model variants.

According to several Toyota dealers we spoke to, new orders for the solitary petrol-powered Toyota Camry available will take between nine and 14 months to be filled, while the Hybrid version could take anywhere from two to four years to arrive, meaning many buyers waiting patiently in the queue could receive a next-generation version of the mid-size sedan.

Those willing to settle for a petrol rather than hybrid version of Australia’s top-selling SUV (at least until last month, when the Mazda CX-5 regained that title) will still have to wait between one and two years for their new RAV4, whereas the bigger Kluger will ‘only’ take six to eight months to arrive in customer hands.

Make it a Kluger Hybrid and the timeframe blows out to between 10 and 12 months, but according to one Queensland dealer this figure will grow in the coming months as more RAV4 Hybrid customers up-shop to avoid the aforementioned 36-month wait.

Meantime, buyers of the smaller Toyota Corolla Cross are being faced with an approximate wait of around a year for petrol versions and up to two years for hybrids.

Lead times on the compact Corolla and Yaris hatchback line-ups (hybrids included) are a relatively short eight to 12 months, while customer deliveries of the C-HR and Yaris Cross small SUVs will take roughly 10 to 12 months to arrive.

As with the rest of the range, the hybrids are the worst offenders.

Those in the market for a proper Toyota off-roader will probably be astounded to read the average wait time for a new Toyota HiLux is between four and six months, and between five and six months for its Fortuner wagon sibling.

New orders for the evergreen Toyota Prado will still take roughly a year to be filled, depending on the grade and colour, while order books for the LandCruiser 70 Series remain very much closed, with one dealership saying it still holds two or three years’ worth of orders to fill.

If you can afford to push up a price bracket or two, however, one WA dealer nominated a refreshing four-month wait on the LandCruiser 300 Series GXL, although delivery times quickly blow out towards the 18-month mark if you’re after a high-end variant like the VX or Sahara.

Toyota Australia sales and marketing vice-president Sean Hanley told carsales just two months ago that the company’s stock shortage situation was unlikely to change until 2024 at the earliest.

“I don’t believe there will be an improvement in the supply situation in 2023,” said Hanley in January. “The best we can hope for in that regard is 2024.

“I know it’s frustrating. I get that. It doesn’t fall short on me ever the level of frustration and the volatility of the information we are providing.

“But I thank those customers and I want them to know we are doing everything absolutely possible this year to prioritise those vehicles and get them in their hands as soon as possible.”

Earlier this month when the latest VFACTS sales figures were released, however, Hanley said that improved supplies were expected in the second half of 2023 and that strong demand would see Toyota Australia eclipse 200,000 sales once again this year.

“Sales figures confirm that we continue to face supply constraints, which are likely to continue for the first quarter at least. At this stage, we are expecting improved supply during the second half of the year,” he said last week.

“We continue to work hard with our global production teams and our local dealers to ensure we receive and deliver as many cars as possible, as quickly as possible.

“Demand for Toyota vehicles remains incredibly strong and our order bank is very healthy.”

Toyota dominated the Australian new-vehicle market in 2022 with more than 231,050 sales – more than double that of any other brand.

Mazda, for reference, was the second most popular auto brand in Australia last year with 95,718 sales.

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