There was only one RAV4 hybrid left on the lot at Orange Toyota on Monday afternoon, and that was a silver demonstrator.
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A sign of the times, perhaps, given the hybrid RAV4 has made automotive history, becoming the first hybrid-powered version of any model to outsell every other vehicle in Australia.
The RAV4, which is also sold as a petrol-only model, has led the market for the past two months, however sales of 4,405 hybrid RAV4s in August took a hybrid to the top of the charts for the first time.
At Orange Toyota new vehicles manager Blair Blashki has seen an increase in interest on the lot in the RAV4 hybrid.
"It's a testament to the quality of the hybrid," Mr Blashki said.
"It suits rural and metropolitan conditions; it has lots of power to overtake and get yourself out of trouble on the open road."
Mr Blashki said the RAV4 hybrid is more powerful than the petrol-only model, and that in country conditions you'd expect to get about 1,000km to a 55-litre tank.
"It's quite a big car, but it's quiet, smooth and powerful," he said. "I think it's becoming the new family car."
Hybrid sales represented a record 91.3 per cent of total RAV4 sales in August, with dealers also selling 420 petrol variants, for a total of 4,825 vehicles.
Mr Blashki said the hybrid version retails for about $2,500 more than the petrol-only, but that it was a price people were prepared to pay in order to have more grunt, cheaper fuel bills and less impact on the environment.
Toyota also set a record for annual hybrid sales, reaching 33,462 vehicles to the end of August or 26.6 per cent of the brand's total sales.
In August Toyota sold 6,142 hybrid vehicles, representing just under half of total deliveries to customers. Mr Blashki acknowledged the headwinds facing global automotive industries both pre- and during the Covid-19 pandemic: "Tough conditions are not new, but all we can do is control what we do."
RAV4 sales, particularly for hybrid variants, have been supplemented recently by a substantial increase in supply to shorten the time between a customer placing an order and receiving their vehicle.
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