Toyota built a car people want to buy. Then decided not to sell it to them. The RAV4 exists only as a hybrid now and the company warned dealers they won't be getting enough of them. This is marketing.
Demand is high because supply is low. Supply is low because Toyota made it low. Dealers stand around waiting for inventory like it's a f*cking Supreme drop. The car is not rare. The car is not special. Toyota just printed fewer of them and called it a launch strategy.
Some guy walked into a dealership last week ready to buy. The salesman told him the RAV4 hybrid would arrive in three months. Maybe four. The guy nodded and said he'd wait. He will spend ninety days thinking about a mid-sized SUV that gets decent gas mileage. His wife will ask if he put the deposit down. He will say yes. She will ask what color. He will realize he forgot to ask.
The hybrid badge means the car costs more and saves you less than you think. You will calculate the fuel savings over five years. You will convince yourself it makes sense. It does not make sense. You are paying a premium to feel responsible while sitting in traffic on the way to Target.
Toyota announced limited production like it was a constraint instead of a choice. Every car company has a factory. Every factory has a capacity. Toyota chose this capacity. Then they watched dealers send apologetic emails to customers about allocation. The customers felt special. They were not special.
The RAV4 will arrive eventually. You will buy it. You will drive it for a decade. You will never think about the fact that you waited four months for a car that looks identical to the one it replaced.
Photo by Krish Parmar on Unsplash
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