Benoit Charette
After more than 25 years of sustained growth in hybrid sales, Toyota Canada has taken a decisive step by announcing that its most popular model, the RAV4, will no longer be offered in petrol version from 2026. The sixth generation of the compact SUV will only be offered in hybrid or rechargeable hybrid, consolidating electrification at the heart of the Canadian strategy of the Japanese manufacturer. This is not an improvised decision, specifies Scott Mackenzie, director of corporate affairs at Toyota Canada. Since the beginnings of the fifth generation of RAV4 in 2018, design teams have already planned a 100 % electrified future for the next generation. The decision to eliminate the petrol engine is therefore part of a long -term vision.
A popularity that reassures
With 77,556 units sold in 2023, the RAV4 is not only the best -selling Toyota in the country, but also the second most popular vehicle in Canada, behind the Ford Series F Touts. The hybrid and the PHEV represented nearly 38,000 sales together in 2024, a volume almost equivalent to that of the petrol version. Toyota therefore did not see any significant loss of customers by operating this transition. Even the disappearance of the petrol engine on the Camry 2025 did not lead to a significant retreat of sales. Toyota anticipates some resistances on the part of the irreducible petrol, but Mackenzie believes that the market is ready, and that the time has come to assume this turn.
Support for Canadian dealerships
On the dealership side, the enthusiasm is palpable. Laura Zanchin, vice-president of the Zanchin Automotive group in Toronto, says that her two Toyota dealerships have no trouble getting out of their hybrid rav4s-quite the contrary. The waiting lists are long and the demand largely exceeds the supply. Same bell sound at Ted Lancaster of the 401 group, which considers the balance autonomy-performance-economy offered by hybrids as ideal for the Canadian consumer.
Local production that adds value
Another major asset: the RAV4 is built here in Canada, in the Toyota factories in Cambridge and Woodstock, Ontario. To accommodate the 2026 model, these installations will be modernized from the second half of 2025, in particular by adding assembly channels for the airlines. A local production which reassures and which feeds a certain national pride with buyers.
Price and future of the electrified range
Toyota remains discreet on the pricing of the 2026 model, but promises to maintain a basic price similar to that of the current range. In 2025, a petrol RAV4 began $ 38,680, delivery costs included, while the hybrid model begins at $ 41,630. RAV4 will not be the only one to follow this path. Toyota Canada plans that the vast majority of its models will be hybrid by the end of the decade, at least. The manufacturer intends to continue to meet the demand while reducing its carbon footprint, without necessarily going through pure electric electric.
With Automotive News Canada information
About the author
Benoit Charette has been practicing car journalism for 33 years. He is the founder, owner and editor -in -chief of the annual automobile, which he has published since 2001. He hosted the RPM and RPM+ programs on V and the legends of the road on Historia. On the radio since 1986, he hosts the program It holds the road on the Network8 Cogeco and participated in the Passion Auto Sur RDS program in addition to putting the official annual website on the annual annual website on annual.
