Next-gen Toyota RAV4 to get big hybrid boost: 2026 Toyota RAV4 family SUV believed to be powered by new hybrid set-up that will move goal posts ahead of Hyundai Tucson and Mitsubishi Outlander

The current Toyota RAV4 is having a moment.

Australians have bought more than 31,000 RAV4s through the first seven months of this year, which is almost double the amount sold in the same period in 2023 and nearly twice as much as its nearest rival this year.

The RAV4’s popularity Down Under pales in comparison to the behemoth the RAV4 is on the US sales charts. In 2023 Americans bought more than 434,000 RAV4s… which is about double the amount of cars Toyota sold in total in Australia in the same period.

That is a strong result for a car that has been on sale for six years and is nearing the end of its circa eight-year lifecycle.

Toyota is prepping a new version of the RAV4, which is expected to be revealed late next year before heading on sale in 2026.

And due to its dominance in the US, the American market is expected to shape the next-gen RAV4.

This means hybrid is set to be a huge focus, with the sales of electric cars cooling in the US.

To meet this hybrid demand, Toyota is developing a trio of new engines that are better suited to electrification.

The most likely engine to be fitted to the next-gen RAV4 is the mooted 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol unit. There has been no word on outputs, but the bigger 2.0-litre turbo hybrid set-up is rumoured to deliver 300kW of grunt.

It has been speculated by Japanese media outlets the new RAV4 will have a bigger battery, which will do more of the heavy lifting compared to the current version helping to deliver lower fuel use.

So expect better fuel economy than the current non-turbo 2.5-litre four-cylinder hybrid set-up, which drinks a claimed 4.8 litres in the heavier and thirstier all-wheel drive guise.

The bigger battery and more potent electric motor will be a step up from Toyota’s current hybrids but aren’t believed to be able to be charged up via a powerpoint.

Instead, Toyota is rumoured to be teaming up with Chinese behemoth BYD to borrow its advanced plug-in hybrid technology.

This would give the Japanese brand access to hybrid tech that can deliver an electric-only driving range of 120km and miniscule fuel use.

BYD recently debuted its Seal 07 plug-in hybrid sedan in China that it claimed can drive 2000km before refuelling.

Buyers would need to charge the battery regularly to come close to this figure, though, but the potential is exciting.

This all ties in nicely to hints on Toyota Australia’s future strategy dropped by Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Dealer Operations Sean Hanley.

Toyota Australia has already switched to a hybrid-only line-up in its hatchback, sedan and SUV ranges, and rumours are the US will follow suit.

Hanley said the popularity of hybrid vehicles in Australia made the company’s decision to go hybrid-only Down Under an easy one.

"This is not a result of the impending New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES). These are trends that are in the market now. In fact, the new mandated standard confirms the foresight of Toyota’s strategy,” said Hanley.

“We continue and we will do even more in coming years to innovate across a diverse range of drivetrains, which is the essence of Toyota’s multi pathway approach.”

He’s also mentioned plug-in hybrids will be a feature in Australia in the not too distant future.

“100 per cent you can expect hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles and I dare say some time in the future even synthetic fuel vehicles, hydrogen conversion vehicles of conventional ICE engines are also something we are considering,” he said.