A buyer’s bonanza is coming to Toyota showrooms thanks to new models and extra supplies from Japan and Thailand. After a lacklustre start to 2026, with BYD from China almost stealing market leadership in June, the T-Brand is promising a rampaging run to the end of the year.

There is no talk of discounting, despite recent price changes at Ford and special deals at most brands including Kia and Hyundai, but Toyota is bullish in its forecasting with two jumps in its full-year target. In early June it first lifted its target to 220,000 for 2026, and has now promised it will do “more than 230,000” for the year.

The half-year total at Toyota was a disappointing 95,141 deliveries, down by more than 25,000 and four percentage points from the same time in 2025, despite an all-time overall record number in June.

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“People think Toyota is losing. We’re not,” Toyota’s Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, John Pappas, told WhichCar by Wheels. “We’re catching up. We’re catching up on demand. We’ve been able to get the stock.

“We anticipate supply improving across our key models, average wait times reducing and we see customer demand remaining extremely strong.”

Keys to the second-half surge are four new arrivals including the plug-in hybrid version of the RAV4 and the “performance hybrid” version of the 300 Series LandCruiser. There is also the first run of battery-electric HiLux pick-ups and the bigger and better bZ4X Touring electric SUV.

But Toyota has also strong-armed company headquarters in Japan into finding an extra 30,000 cars for the boats to Australia.

“It’s a big number, but we’re up for that,” Pappas said.

He promised the wait times for the most-popular Toyota models, including the HiLux pick-up, would be slashed dramatically to only three months.

He denied any panic over the rapid sales growth for the top Chinese contenders – led by BYD, GWM and Chery – and instead pointed to a lack of supply across the whole Toyota range.

“I don’t look at it as offensive or defensive. We’ve got very strong customer demand. It’s about satisfying customer needs,” Pappas told Wheels. “We’ve been down, based on supply. And that’s really impacted our supply and volumes. Supply is the main reason why we are down.

“We’ve got a whole team now that are getting ready for the next six months. In terms of supply, logistics and the dealer network. It’s a high percentage. And we’ve got to deliver that in six months. It’s a big number, but we’re up for that.”

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The four-pronged product push is also key for Toyota, and its loyal buyers, with the emphasis on a LandCruiser 300 Series with what is now being called a ‘performance hybrid’ powertrain, as well as a plug-in hybrid version of the RAV4.

The sales forecast for the battery-powered HiLux is only in the hundreds and the Touring version of the Bz4X is also unlikely to set any records.

“With the additional supply our average wait times are three to six months. There are complexities. It’s definitely improved. RAV4 is now three to five months,” said Pappas.

Speaking directly about the rapid growth in Chinese sales, Pappas said he was not looking at any specific rivals.

“First and foremost, we respect all competition. It doesn’t matter where they come from. We’re focussed on what we’re doing,” he said. “It’s not just about selling cars. It’s the whole ownership experience. Of course we want to sell as many cars as we can but for us, it’s the end-to-end experience. Our main focus has been to get additional supply.”