Good news for Toyota RAV4 Hybrid wait times – if you’re at the back of the queue

EXCLUSIVE

Toyota RAV4 Hybrid customers in Australia who have been waiting for longer than 12 months to take delivery of their new car will soon find themselves at the front of the queue, as the auto giant finally launches an overdue overhaul of its flawed vehicle allocation process.

The average wait time for a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid in Australia typically exceeds 18 months to two years, and has done so for a couple of years.

Despite a ramp-up to record levels of production – with assembly lines and parts suppliers working overtime – Toyota still cannot keep up with the unprecedented customer demand.

Part of the reason for the lengthy delays – and uncertain delivery dates – has been Toyota Australia's flawed vehicle allocation system which does not necessarily work on a first-come, first-served basis.

Different Toyota dealers receive different allocations – depending on their sales volume – but customers have no way of knowing where they stand in the national queue, only where they rank in the dealer's queue.

Other car companies also have the same dilemma, and the same vague estimates on production and delivery dates.

Toyota – and other car companies – are generally reluctant to adopt a first-come, first-served delivery allocation system because it can penalise private buyers by pushing them further down the queue behind large fleet orders.

The first-come, first-served system can also work against customers in regional areas, because rural dealers generally do not sell as many vehicles as metropolitan dealers.

Under the old allocation system, Toyota dealers in Australia found themselves in a queue for cars – battling against rival Toyota dealers for showroom stock – and the customer is none the wiser about when their new vehicle will be built, let alone delivered.

Now, after more than two years of complaints aired on social media – and via direct feedback from frustrated customers to Toyota Australia – the company has announced its biggest change yet to the allocation process for the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.

The head of sales and marketing for Toyota Australia, Sean Hanley, told Drive the changes won't suddenly mean customers at the back of the queue will receive their cars tomorrow – but they are about to be prioritised, and will be allocated a vehicle as soon as possible.

"From May right through to December (this year), we're starting to bring in some fairly significant quantities of production," said Mr Hanley.

"One of the things that we have been able to now facilitate is we are looking at those long wait times on a customer by customer basis, and we're trying to prioritise where we can get a (vehicle) match, to get those cars, particularly to customers who have been waiting longer than 12 months.

"Does that mean (customers) are going to get their cars tomorrow? No. But we are now working with our dealer network ... to prioritise customers who have been waiting the longest, if and when cars become available."

Toyota dealers across Australia have this week been advised cars for any orders that have been cancelled must but be returned to the national pool of vehicles to be re-allocated to rest of the network.

The senior Toyota Australia executive said the new allocation system meant a shift away from the previous "fair share" process that did not deliver cars on a first-come, first-served basis.

"As always we are working with the factory and our dealers to reduce wait times as best we can, but demand is now the main factor in extended wait times, the factory has ramped up production for some time."

While the overhaul of the allocation process was long overdue, Mr Hanley said the changes will be implemented "from this month".

"Over the (next) seven months, we expect customers at the back of the queue will see a change. We will not be able to clear 100 per cent of the order bank, but we are hoping to help those customers who have been waiting the longest."

When asked if Toyota Australia has been required to take action against dealers found to have moved a new Toyota RAV4 Hybrid onto the used-car lot to sell it at a price premium, Mr Hanley said:

"We have strong standards around these matters. That doesn't mean, from time to time, we haven't had matters like that. We have, but we've dealt with them."

When asked what punishment or disincentive Toyota Australia applied to dealers who have tried to 'flip' low-kilometre or new cars as used cars with a substantial price premium – rather than allocating the vehicle to the next customer in the queue – Mr Hanley said:

"It entails talking to the dealership about our brand values. We have a good relationship with our dealer network. We work hard with them on ... our expectations. And our dealers are very good as a whole."

When pressed for a more specific example of how dealers are discouraged from 'flipping' new cars and putting them on the used lot, Drive asked Mr Hanley if Toyota punished dealers by reducing their next allocation of vehicles.

"No, we don't do that," said Mr Hanley. "We just have a sensible conversation about customer experience and our brand values and generally most dealers understand and it doesn't happen again."

When asked if a "conversation about brand values" really was a strong enough deterrent to dealers who were capitalising on the short supply of in-demand cars, Mr Hanley said:

"If you have a strong, engaging relationship of honesty and integrity with your dealer network, these aren't difficult conversations to have."

When pressed again by Drive – "to be clear, there's no punishment for Toyota dealers who flip new cars, you just have a conversation" – Mr Hanley said:

"No, we don't take cars off them because essentially, we don't need to get to that level of reprisal. We have a good discussion about brand values, which our dealer network shares with us. The idea is to bring the behaviour into line with our expected standards."

The Toyota Australia executive acknowledged that reducing a rogue dealer's vehicle allocation would cause longer delays for customers in their queue.

Mr Hanley has repeatedly apologised to Toyota RAV4 Hybrid customers – and those in the queue for other in-demand models – for the uncertainty around arrival timing and the lengthy delivery delays.

"We want nothing more than to serve our customers," Mr Hanley told Drive in a separate interview, last year.

"And we kindly ask for their understanding and patience. We want to deliver their new car. But these are unprecedented times, with a sharp rise in customer demand coming at the same time as a long period of production interruptions.

"We understand the frustration and we are always working to do better to reduce wait times."