Nancy Berman and Ira Berman ordered a RAV4 in March and were still waiting six months later, a delay that fits Toyota’s limited early hybrid rollout. By then, their SUV was about to arrive, while many buyers were being told to plan for waits that could stretch from several weeks to a few months.
Almost 480,000 RAV4s moved in the U.S. last year, keeping the model near the top of Toyota’s lineup even as the latest version goes hybrid across the board. Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds said, "It is really unusual to see cars fly off the dealers' lots like this" and added, "It is not something that exists in that very practical, very suburban, small-midsize crossover segment."
Colonial Toyota in Milford
250 more vehicles could fit on the property at Colonial Toyota in Milford, Connecticut, according to Bobby Crabtree, yet he said the store is only about one third of the way to full vehicle capacity. That gap leaves dealers waiting on more supply while shoppers are trying to get into a model that Toyota has kept tight in the early phase of production.
Third in nationwide sales in 2025, trailing only the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado, the RAV4 is still carrying unusual weight for Toyota. Through July, Toyota’s U.S. sales were up 0.3% even with the RAV4 hard to find, so the shortage is not slowing the brand’s broader pace the way it is narrowing choice on dealer lots.
Jessica Caldwell on hybrids
More than 18% of U.S. vehicle sales are expected to be hybrids in 2026, while internal combustion vehicles are projected at 75% and all-electric vehicles at 7%, according to J.D. Power. That mix helps explain why Toyota’s hybrid RAV4 is drawing attention now: the model sits in a segment that buyers already use as a practical daily driver, and supply is still catching up to demand.
The practical question for buyers is timing. Toyota told buyers and dealers that early production would stay lower before gradually ticking up, which leaves shoppers like the Bermans in the queue until output rises enough to fill dealer inventory. Nancy said, "The wait was a slight annoyance," and, "It didn't stop us from going and doing this because we do have our other Toyotas to drive."
