October 30, 2024

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Toyota Motor on May 21 launched the all-new RAV4 SUV in South Korea to meet growing demand for the vehicle type.

The Japanese carmaker came up with the fifth-generation RAV4, the first fully changed model in six years, to gain a share of the expanding local SUV market.

The company said it aims to sell 3,000 units a month of the new model in Korea this year. It went on sale Tuesday. 

The new RAV4’s basic version comes with a 2.5-liter gasoline engine, with two others being hybrid versions. The gasoline version is mated with an eight-speed automatic transmission, and the two gasoline hybrid versions are equipped with an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission (eCVT), the company said in a statement.

It sells at the starting price of 35 million won ($29,000), and prices go up to 46 million won depending on optional features.

“We expect the RAV4 will help boost sales (in Korea) for the rest of the year as customers awaited the new SUV model,“ Toyota Korea President and CEO Takemura Nobuyuki said at a launching event held in Seoul.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)