Toyota takes its 19th straight vehicle sales result in 2021

Toyota Australia finished 2021 on top with a total sales figure of 223,642, a rise of nearly ten per cent over 2020. It marks the 19th year in a row on the top step for the Japanese company and its 25th number one result.

The results also show that in the last two and a half years, Toyota has won 25 months.

Hybrid sales made up nearly a quarter of the total. Since the 2001 introduction of its first hybrid, the Prius, Toyota has gone from selling 136 hybrids a year to over 65,000. Nearly three in four RAV4s sold in 2021 were hybrids, half of Corollas and whopping 84 per cent of Camrys.

Further up the range where hybrids are non-existent, the LandCruiser brand had a massive year, with over 50,000 sales. Between the 200 and 300 Series, buyers took delivery of 12,652 wagons.

Sean Hanley, the ebullient Vice President of sales and marketing, says Toyota has big plans for 2022.

"We will freshen our existing line-up with the upgraded RAV4 range early this year, the Corolla Cross SUV and second-generation GR 86 sports car in the second half, an update to the 70 Series workhorse, and we will also announce launch timing for our first BEV, the BZ4X SUV."

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As part of the results announcement, Toyota mounted a vigorous defence of its electrification strategy.

The marque's local president and CEO, Matthew Callachor, says that the impact of HEVs has been to reduce emissions long before any target was set.

"According to our calculations, those 240,000 hybrids have had the same impact on reducing CO2 as approximately 72,000 BEVs. Yet the volume of batteries we've used to produce these hybrid-electric vehicles is the same as we'd need for just 3500 BEVs. In other words, we can say that the batteries needed for 3,00 BEVs have been used to achieve the CO2 emissions reduction effect of 72,000 BEVs."

RAV4 wait times have blown out to 12 months, particularly for Cruiser and Edge variants. When asked when customers might expect wait times to fall, Mr Hanley said 2022 was looking better. The company expects production to stabilise in the first quarter of 2022 and then ramp up towards the end of the second quarter to higher levels.

Mr Hanley did note that cancellations were not abnormally high and thanked customers for their patience.

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Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

"We assure you we are doing everything we can to increase supply and get customers behind the wheel of their new Toyota as soon as possible," he said

Mr Callachor added that RAV4 production for both ICE and HEV models would ramp up as demand continues to outstrip supply.

The company expects to outperform its 2021 result, with a strong order book and an optimistic forward view.