The Toyota RAV4 Is The World's Best-Selling Car - Could The Hybrid Shakeup Change That?

Toyota launched the first-generation RAV4 back in the mid-1990s. It combined the go-anywhere usefulness of an off-roader with the creature comforts and approachable nature of a typical commuter car, effectively creating the compact SUV segment. Folks loved the higher ride height and genuine off-road capability, but at the same time, people also really admired the fact these benefits didn't come at the expense of on-road comfort and compact proportions.

Fast forward to today, and Toyota's fifth-gen RAV4 is more popular than ever before. In fact, the RAV4 managed to strip the beloved F-150 of its bestseller title for the first time in 2024. In that year, 460,915 units of the truck sold, but thanks to a 9% increase in sales over 2023's numbers, Toyota managed to shift 475,193 RAV4 models, ending the F-150's 42-year run as America's best-selling vehicle.

However, the all-new 2026 RAV4 is on the horizon now, and it's got some pretty big shoes to fill. Instead of keeping things simple and just refreshing the RAV4, Toyota has decided to make some pretty key changes to the RAV4's basic recipe, such as removing the option of a gas-only model altogether. Is such an approach likely to damage the sales success and overall appeal of the next-gen RAV4, or can the model succeed without the need of a gas-only variant at all in the lineup?

Having worked in both new and used car sales for some years, I've seen automakers both succeed and fail when it comes to replacing popular model lines. Judging by what we know about the new RAV4, and the model it replaces, it sure looks like going the hybrid-only route is at the very least a small gamble for Toyota, but there's certainly evidence to suggest it could pay off in the long run too.

In order to calculate if Toyota's hybrid-only future for the RAV4 is likely to change the success of the model, we need to dive a little deeper into those sales numbers. Fortunately, Toyota has fairly recently provided figures for the popular little SUV, and 2025's sales figures for the first six months of the year are quite telling.

In total, 239,451 Toyota RAV4 models were sold. If that rate of sales continues, we'd be looking at an estimated total number of sales for 2025 of 478,902 — 3,709 more than last year. However, the important thing to note is that, of those 239,451 sold in the first year, 95,813 were hybrids, and 11,357 were plug-in hybrids. The 2026 RAV4 will only be available in hybrid and plug-in hybrid configurations, so it's these numbers which we can use to predict the future demand of the up-and-coming sixth-gen model.

As of June 2025, 107,170 hybridized RAV4 models found new homes, of the 239,451 sold, which means a grand total of 132,281 RAV4s sold in the first half of this year were gas-only trims. In other words, the hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales make up 45% of the total sales. Assuming the same level of demand continues when the new model debuts, instead of the estimated 478,902 RAV4s sold, Toyota will instead be looking at a total of 215,506.

The demand is clearly still high for the fifth-gen RAV4, even though it was first introduced for the 2019 model year. This is why it's so surprising to see Toyota replace it with a hybrid-only option for 2026 onwards. However, while the numbers above suggest a huge drop in demand could be on the horizon, there are numerous reasons why this might not happen.

Firstly, just because a gas-only option is being removed, it doesn't necessarily mean that 100% of those gas-only customers will now shop elsewhere. If they are loyal to the brand and appreciate what Toyota offers, there stands a good chance that many of them will simply step up and purchase a hybrid model instead. After all, when we buy a new car, we naturally expect it to boast new technologies and improvements over the old model, so there is a chance that long-time RAV4 customers will see the hybrid technology as exactly this.

Even those on the fence about hybrid tech may also be swayed by what else the 2026 RAV4 offers. A choice of front- and all-wheel-drive options are given — a first for the hybridized RAV4 — plus there is up to 324 horsepower on offer, an all-electric driving range of 52 miles, and a combined rating of up to 44 MPG. The tech is better, too. 

Toyota equips all 2026 RAV4 models with an all-new digital gauge cluster, the latest in Toyota Safety Sense technology, plus a smattering of off-road oriented features and upgrades, too. What's more, the RAV4 keeps its affordable edge, with pricing kicking off "in the low $30,000s," and this might be enough to sway those gas-only customers over to the hybrid side. Ultimately, only time will tell if Toyota's hybrid RAV4 gamble pays off or not.