The verdict: Toyota’s brand-new RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid combines amazing efficiency with acceleration that hasn’t been seen in the marque since the third-generation RAV4 V-6, but it’s also a little rough around the edges.
In comparison to the competition: The RAV4 Prime has few mass-market competitors because the majority of plug-in hybrid SUVs are badged as luxury vehicles. Toyota has an advantage in certain crucial areas, which should strengthen the argument for the Prime more than a few glaring flaws do.
The 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime (similar to the Prius Prime, another plug-in hybrid), a new plug-in hybrid model that prioritizes both performance and efficiency, goes on sale at dealers across the country in July. Building on the 2019 model year RAV4 Hybrid, a sportier version of the current-generation RAV4, the Prime combines a modified version of the Hybrid’s four-cylinder engine with more powerful electric motors, a larger battery, improved brakes, and a retuned chassis. Similar to the RAV4 Hybrid, it only offers all-wheel drive with the use of a third electric motor at the back axle. (Stack up RAV4 Prime trim levels here, or compare all three RAV4 models.)
In This Article...
Is the 2021 RAV4 Prime already available?
Toyota predicted that in its first model year, it would supply 5,000 RAV4 Primes. Just under 20,000 have been delivered.
Toyota has delivered the RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle more than four times faster than it anticipated for the American market. On July 27, 2020, RAV4 Prime went on sale as a 2021 model year vehicle. To be expected from automakers. Models that are introduced in the second half of a year are typically referred to as the model year to come. Toyota is likely to convert the RAV4 Prime to a 2022 model year vehicle soon. Unless there are absolutely no vehicles to ship as a result of widespread part shortages in the industry, the new move to the 2022 model year will take place in the next month or two.
In 2022, will there be additional RAV4 primes?
The Toyota RAV4 Prime, a small SUV with a plug-in hybrid engine, will be available in 2022. That’s only the beginning.
The RAV4 has a history of being extremely well-liked all around the world through five generations, and it consistently ranks among the best-selling cars in the U.S. The RAV4 Prime naturally achieves the best level of fuel efficiency, but it also has another significant feature.
vehicles that are more swift and powerful. The engine and two electric motors work together to provide 302 horsepower, which results in an electric all-wheel drive system. From a complete stop to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds, it can sprint.
Although it’s unlikely that many prospective owners of a new RAV4 Prime are considering drag racing away from stop lights, it’s beneficial to have this kind of power on hand. Particularly when there isn’t a penalty for poor fuel economy—quite the opposite.
There is also a hybrid RAV4. The Prime differs from that in that it has a larger lithium-ion battery that can be recharged from an external source and enables it to travel a decent distance only on electricity. The best in this relatively tiny class was 42 miles.
How many RAV4 prime 2021 models have been sold?
The Toyota RAV4 Prime PHEV led all electric vehicles sold in the US in 2021 with 27,707 units sold, outselling the other 23 electric vehicles from automakers that openly provide detailed sales figures for their EV models. With 27,140 units sold in 2021, Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, which went on sale three months earlier in December 2020, was the best-selling BEV among heritage automakers.
Since Tesla does not break out deliveries by market or individual model (the company reports global deliveries for the combined Model 3/Y and S/X models; see article on Tesla sales estimates for 2021), we can only estimate their sales. The Tesla Model Y and Model 3 of course outsold any other EV models in the US. EVAdoption will publish its Q4 and full-year 2021 US EV Sales Report in the coming weeks. It will contain estimated and reported sales for all BEVs and PHEVs sold in the US in 2021. (including Tesla). However, our current (but perhaps altered) projections for Model Y and Model 3 deliveries are 180,000 and 145,000, respectively.
The Jeep Wrangler 4xe PHEV, which is not mentioned and is another popular EV in addition to Tesla models, is expected to sell about 26,000 units in 2021. The Wrangler 4xe would probably rank as the fifth-best selling EV in the US for 2021 if you add the Tesla Model Y and Model 3.
Will there be an increase in RAV4 Prime inventory?
Preliminary Model One of the few available compact SUVs with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain is still the Toyota RAV4 Prime. Since the RAV4 Prime will be a completely new model in 2021, we anticipate the 2023 model to be a carryover with minimal revisions.
RAV4 Prime: Is a tax credit available?
- Tax benefits for Toyota will gradually disappear, but not completely until October 2023.
- As the incentive expires, consumers will pay more for electric Toyota and Lexus vehicles.
- Toyota has sold far too many hybrid and electric cars to be eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit.
The automaker is about to be banned from a government program that provides buyers of specific electric and hybrid vehicles with up to a $7,500 tax credit. That implies that starting in October, highly efficient Toyota and Lexus cars will actually cost thousands more.
In order to encourage the purchase of pure-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, which have larger batteries than conventional hybrids and can travel considerable distances without using gas, the initiative was developed in 2010. After selling 200,000 eligible vehicles in the US, which Toyota accomplished last quarter, automakers are removed from the program, according to Bloomberg.
Toyota won’t be immediately dismissed from the initiative. Instead, over the course of a year, its credits will progressively disappear. Beginning on October 1, tax credits for Toyota’s qualified automobiles will be lowered in half. Six months later, on April 1, they will be cut in half once more. After September 30, 2023, buyers of Toyota automobiles will not be eligible for any tax credit reductions.
Three Toyota and Lexus vehicles from the 2022 model year currently qualified for the program. Toyota RAV4 Prime and Lexus NX plug-in hybrid purchasers are eligible for a $7,500 tax refund. A $4,502 credit is available for plug-in hybrid vehicles like the Toyota Prius Prime. (Automobiles with more battery capacity are eligible for higher credits.)
The BZ4X, a new electric SUV from Toyota, isn’t yet widely accessible and isn’t on the government’s list of models that qualify.
Only Tesla and General Motors had reached the 200,000-unit mark before Toyota. Nissan and Ford are anticipated to follow. Congress is being lobbied by the auto industry to extend and modify the credit.
The US government was encouraged by Toyota, GM, Ford, and Stellantis to remove the 200,000 car cap in June. They claimed that allowing more people to get the credits would hasten the adoption of EVs at a time when supply-chain issues are making them more expensive to create. They suggested an alternative: “a sunset date established for a period when the EV market is more developed.”
A plan to increase the electric vehicle tax credit for union-made American automobiles to $12,500 is one of the President Joe Biden’s spending priorities that Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia opposes, thereby killing that plan. According to The New York Times, Manchin has also suggested eliminating the current $7,500 reward.
Why are RAV4 primes so difficult to come by?
According to InsideEVs, the RAV4 Prime dealership added an additional $40K to the price. Even though such a high markup is unusual, the incident demonstrates the difficulty buyers have had buying cars in a market where manufacturing is lagging.
The lack of semiconductor chips is causing production challenges for some of America’s biggest and most reputable automakers. For months after orders were placed, Ford had trouble fulfilling Bronco orders for customers. Even when they couldn’t deliver the ordered cars, automakers had been giving customers the newest model years.
Toyota’s next big thing is the RAV4 Prime because of its outstanding value and power. Tax subsidies for electric vehicles reduce the price of the plug-in hybrid SUV even further. The RAV4 Prime is demonstrating that excellent fuel efficiency need not be monotonous.
Due to its distinct size and drivetrain, the 2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime is a specialty car. It generates an astounding 302 horsepower using an electric motor and a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. That is 99 more horsepower than the RAV4’s gasoline engine. Additionally, it can drive 42 miles on electricity alone.
How long does it take to place a Toyota order in 2022?
The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is quick, and that’s the key point. You can anticipate delivery in a month or two and being placed on the allotted list at your dealer in no less than two to three weeks. In essence, you will have to wait three months. You could also consider used cars. They have increased by over 50% at Carvana. Carvana’s starting MSRP is $29,075 and its typical cost ranges from $35,000 to $45,000. That is a sizable markup.
Sincerely, I don’t think this is a particularly long wait for a hybrid SUV. especially now that there is a global chip scarcity and financial turmoil. Check out some of our most recent stories to learn more about how only Toyota was able to avoid a decline in truck sales for the month of February. If only electric vehicles that we actually want to see on the road were already here, like the Ford F-150 Lightning or the Cyber Truck. Even the Tesla Roadster, which I am chomping at the bit to see in person, hasn’t even been brought up lately.
While we must wait for these vehicles to be released, I believe Toyota’s plan to release these essential vehicles, such as hybrids, and to raise awareness of impending electric vehicles. However, I still believe that Japan as a whole is still years away from having at least a few good and active electric vehicles. The Nissan Leaf is the only one that has had some success.
How do you feel? Should Toyota increase its output of EVs and hybrids? Would you purchase a hybrid Toyota RAV4 in 2022? Comment below with your thoughts and let us know.
RAV4 Prime
In 2021, the Toyota RAV4 Prime sold 27,703 units overall and 7,741 units in the fourth quarter.
- 2,185 in December, up 112%
- Q4: 7,741 (increased 251%)
- 2021: 27,703 (up 766%)
There were 407,739 RAV4 sales in total (down 4.3%), including 120,983 hybrids, which suggests that Prime accounted for 6.8% of those sales. In 2022, there is undoubtedly opportunity for development.
Prius Prime
In Q4 2016, 2,635 units of the outdated Toyota Prius Prime, the second model iteration following the initial Prius PHEV, were sold, a 29% year-over-year decline. The plug-in hybrid Prius had its second-best year in 2021, though.
- 2021: 25,042 (increase 70%)
- Q4: 2,635 (down 29%)
- December: 1,154 (a 25.5% decrease)
The Prius Prime is very close to the Prius Hybrid (conventional), which according to YTD sales in 2021 was noted at 33,968 units.
Mirai
The Toyota Mirai is a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle rather than a plug-in model (technically it is nothing more than a series hybrid with a zero-emissions onboard power source).
This year’s sales were much higher than they were in 2020, but they were still rather modest and had not changed from earlier reports.