Toyota Venza Demand is Much Higher Than Expected
Two months ago, Toyota announced it would bring back the Venza, a stylish, wagon-style crossover that would stand out in the automaker’s lineup as a kind of refined RAV4 Hybrid. As it turns out, that got a lot of people interested — a lot more than Toyota expected.
According to Japanese site Asahi, the new Venza received 45,000 orders in the first month, about 15 times more than the expected monthly target of 3,100 units. This is, of course, in Japan, where the Venza has been sold for four generations as either the Toyota Harrier or the Lexus RX since 1997.
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The all-new 2021 model, which is coming to the United States, will also be the first revamped Venza sold in Japan in seven years. It’s a wildly popular model there, having sold 680,000 units since it was introduced, and clearly the Japanese love that it’s finally getting a proper update.
It’s hard to say whether Americans will be as excited for the Venza, but on paper, there’s every reason to be interested at a minimum. Riding on the automaker’s TNGA-K platform, it will get a projected 40 miles per gallon while cranking out 219 horsepower via an Electric On-Demand all-wheel-drive system.
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In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised to see customer demand outpace Toyota’s expectations in the United States, if history is anything to go by. When the RAV4 Hybrid launched two years ago, demand was so high that customers had to wait months before being able to take delivery of their new SUV. And the RAV4 Prime, which qualifies for rebates from the government, is expected to be similarly popular, yet only 5,000 units have been allocated to the U.S. so far. In Japan, Toyota had to suspend RAV4 Prime orders after just three weeks because of a limited battery supply due to decreased manufacturing capacity.
With COVID-19 causing manufacturing and supply chain delays, it’s almost certain that there won’t be enough Venzas to go around. Considering how much Toyota has invested in American manufacturing, it would be almost flabbergasting.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.