Toyota Motor North America CEO: People are flocking towards SUVs
Toyota Motor North America CEO Jim Lentz on SUV sales, their big bet on hybrid vehicles and the USMCA.
Toyota is giving the Rav4 some juice… in more ways than one.
(Toyota)
The automaker has announced plans to reveal the first plug-in hybrid version of the best-selling vehicle in the USA that’s not a pickup at the L.A. Auto Show in November.
Along with providing an unspecified all-electric driving range, Toyota said the plug-in will be the most powerful version of the Rav4. That title currently belongs to the standard all-wheel-drive Rav4 hybrid, which has 219 hp and a combined fuel economy rating of 40 mpg.
TESTED: 2019 TOYOTA RAV4 HYBRID
The only plug-in model Toyota sells today is the Prius Prime, which provides 25 miles of all-electric driving and 54 mpg combined when running in conventional hybrid mode. That’s 2 mpg better than the standard Prius.
Ford is also introducing a plug-in version of its Rav4 competitor, the Escape, next spring. Pricing has not been announced, but Ford said the 209 hp compact SUV will only be available in front-wheel-drive and deliver over 30 miles of all-electric range.
Toyota has sold 324,622 Rav4s in the U.S. so far this year.