Photo: Toyota
Japanese brands are in charge of the US car market. They are calling the shots, and they see farthest into the future than everybody else. The Honda Accord and Toyota Camry are household names and have been so for a decade. However, the Toyota sales exec in the US believes the RAV4 will become the next king of the hill.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Bob Carter has said that within the next five years, demand for compact SUVs is likely to exceed that for mid-size sedans. The official view is only that the RAV4 will sell better than the Camry. But we bet Toyota bosses are thinking about the same thing as we are.
You see, the RAV4 has recently surpassed the Honda CR-V in the US sales chart. Right now, it’s just the best selling compact SUV, but by 2020, it could become the best-selling vehicle in America if you exclude the F-150.
All the premium German brands haven’t been selling small SUVs by the bucket, despite the hype. The RAV4 may or may not become as popular as Carter believes, as he literally bet a lunch on this thing. But the guy speaks the truth. The 35-year-olds who are bringing new money into the market grew up with parents that owned SUVs, not Japanese sedans. “There’s a really dramatic shift in consumer preference going on,” he said, admitting that back in 2010 he would have never predicted this change.
“Compact SUVs, have the comfort of mid-sized sedans, they’ve got competitive fuel economy, they’ve got all the amenities and the price is almost the same,” Carter added.
The rise of the compact SUV could come sooner than predicted. Toyota expected the RAV4 to sell 300,000 units for the whole of 2015 and the Camry mid-sized sedan to achieve 425,000 respectable units. However, back in November, the baby 4x4 shot up by 30%, way ahead of the general market.
You see, the RAV4 has recently surpassed the Honda CR-V in the US sales chart. Right now, it’s just the best selling compact SUV, but by 2020, it could become the best-selling vehicle in America if you exclude the F-150.
All the premium German brands haven’t been selling small SUVs by the bucket, despite the hype. The RAV4 may or may not become as popular as Carter believes, as he literally bet a lunch on this thing. But the guy speaks the truth. The 35-year-olds who are bringing new money into the market grew up with parents that owned SUVs, not Japanese sedans. “There’s a really dramatic shift in consumer preference going on,” he said, admitting that back in 2010 he would have never predicted this change.
“Compact SUVs, have the comfort of mid-sized sedans, they’ve got competitive fuel economy, they’ve got all the amenities and the price is almost the same,” Carter added.
The rise of the compact SUV could come sooner than predicted. Toyota expected the RAV4 to sell 300,000 units for the whole of 2015 and the Camry mid-sized sedan to achieve 425,000 respectable units. However, back in November, the baby 4x4 shot up by 30%, way ahead of the general market.
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