Toyota RAV4 shortage worsens, with 800 buyers waiting at one dealership and delays beyond six months

Toyota dealers in North America are struggling to keep the new-generation RAV4 in stock. The shortage has become so severe that inventory is being measured in hours rather than days.

At Longo Toyota, a major dealership in California, more than 200 RAV4 vehicles were delivered in May. Even so, 800 customers remained on the waiting list. Some buyers said they waited more than six months after placing an order, describing the process as frustrating.

Toyota executives said the company had spent considerable time upgrading and adjusting production lines in Japan and Canada before the North American launch. The automaker has now started local U.S. production and added its Georgetown, Kentucky, plant to the RAV4 manufacturing effort to increase output.

The supply problem is also pushing customers toward other brands. Reports cited by the Taiwanese publication said Toyota may have lost tens of thousands of orders from buyers unwilling to wait. Recent North American sales figures showed Honda’s CR-V overtaking the RAV4 for the top spot, with Toyota’s inability to keep up with demand identified as one factor behind the change.