The Toyota RAV4 helped start the compact cross/utility-vehicle craze in the U.S. with its 1995 introduction. While there is more than double the competition of 17 years ago, the segment’s oldies-but-goodies still reign supreme.
Honda's CR-V, another early entrant and the RAV4’s No.1 cross-shop, has been dominating the sector in recent years. This year, CR-V sales, driven by a new generation that debuted a year ago, tallied 255,919 units through November, almost 100,000 more than the RAV’s 157,526.
With the next-generation ’13 RAV4, on sale this month in the U.S., Toyota hopes to gain some ground on Honda, targeting 200,000 units annually, above the all-time high of 172,752 RAV4s sold in 2007, WardsAuto data shows.
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