RAV4 (Toyota)

On April 4, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries announced that new vehicle registrations of 109,647 units in March 2024 represented an increase 12.7% over the last March.

New vehicle sales of 304,452 units in the first three months of the year represented an 13.2% increase YoY. 

Passenger car sales of 17,611 units in March represented an 2.5% increase YoY, SUV sales of 64,631 units represented a 20.7% increase, LCV sales of 23,061 units represented a 4.8% increase and MHCV sales of 4,344 units represented a 4.1% decrease. Battery electric vehicles accounted for 9.6% of sales in March.

Among the companies, Toyota sales increased 43.4% YoY to 18,961 units, Ford sales increased 35.3% to 8,776 units, Mazda sales of 8,246 units were similar to last year, Mitsubishi sales increased 34.2% to 7,866 units and Kia sales increased 10.4% to 7,070 units.

The best-selling cars in March 2024, in order of popularity, were Ford Ranger, Toyota RAV4, and Tesla Model Y.

FCAI release on April 4, 2024

On April 4, Toyota in Brazil introduced the RAV4 XSE Plug-in Hybrid.

This SUV has a CVT transmission and a Hybrid Dynamic Force system that includes a 2.5-liter engine with 185 hp, along with front (182 hp and 270 Nm) and rear (54 hp and 121 Nm) electric motors, performing a total power of 306 hp, allowing it to reach 100 km/h in 6.0 seconds.

Its fuel efficiency in urban environments is 35 km/l, while on the highway it is 30 km/l. In fully electric mode its range is 55 km. 

For safety, it has lane keep assist, front recognition camera, radar, blind spot monitoring, and Toyota Safety Sense with the Forward Pre-Collision System capable of detecting pedestrians and cyclists, with automatic emergency braking, among other safety systems.

The XSE version of the vehicle will be available in some dealerships starting in April. 

(Toyota press release on April 4, 2024)

Note: Some figures were updated on April 5.

U.S. new vehicle sales of 1,455,030 units for the month of March represented an increase of 15.5% from February, and an increase of 5.1% from one year ago in March 2023.

There were 27 selling days in March 2024, same as the 27 days in March 2023.

March’s passenger car sales were 293,894 units the same level as last March, resulting in a 20.2% market share, while SUV and truck sales increased 6.5% to 1,161,136 units, resulting in a 79.8% market share.

Light vehicle seasonally adjusted annualized sales (SAAR) for March 2024 was 15.56 million units versus 15.02 million units one year ago.

General Motors monthly sales decreased 0.5%, Ford sales increased 5.5%, and Stellantis sales dropped 9.3%.

As EV competition intensifies, Tesla sales decreased 14.4% from last March to 50,400 units, giving it a U.S. market share of 3.5%.

EV startup Rivian sales were up 74.3% to 4,892 vehicles, Polestar sales were down 20.8% from the same month last year to 690 vehicles, Lucid Motors sales were up 3.0% to 575 units, and newcomers Fisker sold 610 vehicles, while Ineos sold 595 SUVs.

Among Japanese companies, Toyota sales were up 22.5%, Nissan sales were down 1.1%, Honda sales were up 11.8%, Subaru sales were up 15.2%, Mitsubishi sales were up 52.8%, and Mazda sales were up 6.7 %.

Hyundai sales were up 2.2%, but Kia sales were down 2.6%.

Among German companies, VW sales were up 36.9%, BMW sales were up 1.9%, and Mercedes-Benz sales were up 2.8%

Jaguar Land Rover sales increased 35.1% from last March, but Volvo Car sales increased 49.7%.

The best-selling models in March 2024 were:

  1. Ford F-Series (down 13.2% from March 2023)
  2. Chevrolet Silverado (up 0.7%)
  3. Toyota RAV4 (up 51.2%)
  4. Nissan Rogue (up 14.1%)
  5. Honda CR-V (up 17.9%)
  6. Tesla Model Y (up 0.3%)
  7. Ram Ram pickup (down 16.0%)
  8. Toyota Camry (up 21.3%)
  9. GMC Sierra (up 21.7%)
 10. Honda Civic (up 44.9%)

(from Autodata results posted April 2, 2024)