SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN ¨C Toyota Motor Corp. has a problem with selling its hybrids ¡ª its customers can¡¯t get enough of them.
¡°The only thing holding us back on hybrids is capacity,¡± Bob Carter, Toyota¡¯s North American executive vice president for sales, told reporters Thursday at an event in Detroit. ¡°We can¡¯t make enough Corolla and RAV4 hybrids.¡±
While many of its competitors are walking away from hybrids and plowing billions into battery-powered cars, the Japanese automaker has seen demand surge for its 14 gasoline-electric models. Toyota hybrids accounted for 13 percent of total Toyota and Lexus brand sales in the U.S. last month, and made up nearly a quarter of the volume for its top seller, the RAV4 compact SUV.
Toyota could easily sell twice the number of hybrid RAV4 models, but can¡¯t source enough electric batteries for the popular vehicle, Carter said. It currently has an 11-day supply of them in stock, compared to more than 20 days¡¯ supply of gasoline-powered versions, he said.
Carter said the RAV4 hybrid¡¯s appeal has as much to do with features like sporty styling, extra torque and all-wheel drive as it does with its combined 40 miles per gallon fuel economy ¡ª 10 mpg above the gas-only model.
Toyota plans to shift production of the RAV4 hybrid from Canada to a plant in Kentucky early next year, and also add a plug-in hybrid option from next summer to be imported from Japan.
Growing demand for hybrid versions of the RAV4, Corolla and other Toyota vehicles has come at a cost, though. Sales of the firm¡¯s most famous hybrid, the Prius, are down 21 percent so far this year.
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