If you have tried to find a RAV4 lately, you are not imagining the slim pickings. "It is really unusual to see cars fly off the dealers' lots like this," observed Jessica Caldwell, who leads product insight at Edmunds. "It is not something that exists in that very practical, very suburban, small-midsize crossover segment."
At Colonial Toyota in Milford, Connecticut, owner Bobby Crabtree is staring at empty slots where new stock would normally sit. He said the property could fit another 250 vehicles, and by his count it is about one third of the way to that number. He added that while those open spots would not all be RAV4s in a typical market, he would usually have more of them on site.
A recent photo from the Vancouver Auto Show shows the 2026 Toyota RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid GR Sport on March 25, 2026. Photo credit: James MacDonald | Bloomberg | Getty Images.
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Toyota's latest RAV4 lineup is hybrid across the board. The company also told buyers and dealers that the early production run would be held to lower volumes before gradually ticking up, which means stores are not getting their usual flow of units. That is why many customers are being told to plan for waits that could stretch from several weeks to a few months.
The RAV4 has been a juggernaut for years. Toyota moved almost 480,000 of them in the U.S. last year. In 2025 it ranked third in nationwide sales, trailing only the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado, according to Cox Automotive. The timing lines up with a broader shift in what people are buying. J.D. Power estimates that in 2026 hybrids account for more than 18% of U.S. vehicle sales, compared with 75% for internal combustion and 7% for all-electric.
Nancy and Ira Berman of Danbury, Connecticut ordered their RAV4 in March knowing it would not arrive right away. "The wait was a slight annoyance," said Nancy Berman. "It didn't stop us from going and doing this because we do have our other Toyotas to drive." Six months later, their SUV is finally about to land.
Could thin inventories cost Toyota some buyers? So far, not much. Through July, Toyota's U.S. sales in 2026 are up 0.3%. "There are other vehicles within the Toyota lineup that consumers can go to," Caldwell said. "Toyota has a lot of brand loyalty, people who buy a Toyota usually stay with Toyota for many years not just one vehicle purchase but several." For everyday shoppers, that loyalty and the broader shift toward hybrids explain why the RAV4 is hard to find and why patience may be part of getting a deal that fits your budget.
