Customers eagerly waiting for the arrival of the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid are in for a tough competition.
When the automaker announced that the hybrid SUV is making its way to the United States, it set an initial target of 5,000 units. The number already wasn’t big enough to begin with. But as it turns out, it could get even go lower than the original projection.
According to Toyota spokesperson Nicky Hamila, “unforeseen battery supply constraints” are an issue at the assembly plant. As Hamila told online magazine Car and Driver, the issue “may limit our initially planned production volume for the calendar year 2020.”
RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid units are expected to start arriving in the US this month, but with limited availability. The scarcity of stocks could mean that dealers might charge more than the prescribed MSRP for the model, especially if the demand is high. However, some dealers already said they are not inclined to do so.
There are also reports that most of the units arriving soon are heading straight to regions where Toyota’s hybrids are selling very well.
“Our plan is to allocate RAV4 Prime to all states as efficiently and strategically as possible, while also meeting our regulatory ZEV [Zero Emission Vehicle] requirements by prioritizing specific regions with a higher demand for plug-in vehicles,” Hamila said.
Last year, the regular Toyota RAV4 had impressive sales numbers. The popular SUV sold a total of 448,071 units, making it the best-selling non-pickup vehicle in the U.S. Its hybrid variant, meanwhile, outsells the entire Prius lineup.
With limited production output, it remains to be seen how this will affect Toyota‘s 2020 sales.
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