Toyota anticipates three price increases in the U.S. this year. Supply of the new RAV4 will remain tight as production ramps up. Dealers may promote slower-selling models such as the Crown and the new C-HR+.
As Toyota begins rolling out the next generation of its highly popular RAV4, dealerships across the United States may start guiding shoppers toward models that traditionally see lower demand, including the Crown, Crown Signia, bZ lineup, and the newly launched C-HR+.
While the 2026 RAV4 is starting to reach dealer lots, availability is expected to stay constrained in the short term as production and logistics continue to scale. Meanwhile, some dealers with early allocations have already imposed hefty markups, leaving many buyers frustrated as they search for vehicles at reasonable prices.
Toyota’s group vice president for North America and head of the brand, Dave Christ, acknowledged the short-term supply challenges, explaining that the company anticipates “a little volume drop” during the transition period. Even so, Toyota plans to “make up the [missing] RAV4 volume with other cars in the brand.”
“Right now, the majority of our stocks are pickup trucks, so we can do that today, and we’re trying to do that,” Christ told Auto News. “But as far as the low inventory cars, that’s going to be more determined as the year progresses than anything we can we can really count on right now.”
Industry data shows that Toyota and Lexus have held the lowest average monthly inventory levels across the automotive sector for the past two years. With RAV4 supply currently constrained, Christ believes there is an opportunity to shift customer interest toward similarly sized alternatives, including the Crown variants, the electric bZ models, and the updated C-HR+.
Although these vehicles typically generate lower sales volumes, they could help offset the shortfall until RAV4 production stabilizes.
Shoppers considering a new vehicle purchase this year may want to move quickly. Christ expects Toyota’s North American sales to slip slightly, largely as a result of rising vehicle prices.
Andrew Gilleland, senior vice president of automotive operations at Toyota Motor North America, said the automaker is planning three price increases across its lineup this year, compared with the more typical two.
Toyota does not intend to lead the market on pricing. Instead, Gilleland explained that the company plans to track competitors’ actions and avoid “being out in front of that.”
He acknowledged that average new-car prices reaching $50,000 “keeps me up at night,” and added that Toyota cannot fully pass along the costs associated with Trump-era tariffs to consumers.
“We’re not gonna pass that along to consumers,” he said. “I don’t think it’s possible, and so it’s this game of chicken. How long do we play this game and absorb the tariffs for the consumer? It’s tough.”
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