Honda CR-V vs Toyota RAV4: 2026 Sales Reveal a Stunning Reversal

0The Honda CR-V is putting together an impressive sales run, while the Toyota RAV4 faces a more complicated year.The King of Compact SUVsThe Toyota RAV4 has become one of America’s most popular vehicles, leading the compact SUV segment and ranking as the country’s overall sales champion last year. Yes, that included the Ford F-150, which wasn’t the sales king outside the F-Series umbrella.

But in 2026, the Honda CR-V is catching up. RAV4 sales have dropped sharply this year, while the CR-V keeps growing, widening the gap between the two. Both SUVs are practical, family-friendly, and offer electrified options. But when you look at the sales numbers, the story is very different as the year wraps up.

Through September, Honda moved 336,844 CR-Vs. Toyota? Just 253,664 RAV4s. That’s an 83,180-car lead for Honda. Ouch.

September was a tighter race: Honda sold 34,788 CR-Vs (up nearly 22%), while Toyota managed 34,192 RAV4s (down 6.6%). Just a 596-unit difference for the month, but the year-to-date numbers are a whole different ballgame.

Zooming out, Honda’s got the wind at its back. American Honda sold 1,149,261 vehicles through September, up 4.7%. Toyota’s still ahead overall with 1,876,614, but its growth is crawling at just 0.6%.

The biggest difference between the RAV4 and CR-V is how much their sales have changed compared with 2025.

Last year, Toyota sold 358,134 RAV4s by September. This year? Just 253,664. That’s a jaw-dropping drop of 104,470 units – a tough pill to swallow for a model that’s usually Toyota’s golden child in the US. Honda, meanwhile, is heading the other way. The CR-V jumped from 307,501 units last year to 336,844 this year – up by 29,343. That’s 9.5% growth and a big boost for Honda as the year winds down.

Talk about a plot twist: last year, the RAV4 was ahead by 50,633 units. Now, the CR-V leads by 83,180. That’s a wild 133,813-unit swing in just one year.

Of course, this doesn’t mean the RAV4 is suddenly yesterday’s news or that the CR-V will stay on top forever. Sales can swing with inventory hiccups, production quirks, and model changeovers. But right now, Honda’s got a serious lead – and Toyota’s got some catching up to do.

The CR-V’s advantage this year is less about buyers jumping ship and more about Toyota gearing up for a new RAV4. With the next-gen model on the way, RAV4s have been thin on the ground, which is never good for sales – especially for a nameplate that’s usually a sales juggernaut.

This September, Toyota sold 34,192 RAV4s, down from 36,599 last year. Honda? 34,788 CR-Vs, up nearly 22% – and that’s with just 17 days of inventory on hand.

So, the CR-V’s lead is as much about supply as it is about demand. When a model’s in transition, dealers just don’t have enough cars to move, and that’s what’s tripping up the RAV4 right now.

Honda’s also cashing in on the CR-V Hybrid. In September, hybrids made up 53% of CR-V sales – 18,521 units. The third quarter set a new record with 59,668 hybrids sold, proving buyers are still hungry for the CR-V, no matter what’s under the hood.

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Toyota and Honda are playing the electrification game differently. The 2026 RAV4 lineup is all about hybrids and plug-in hybrids, while the CR-V still lets you pick between good old gasoline and hybrid power. So, Honda buyers get to choose their flavor, while Toyota is doubling down on electrified RAV4s.

Interestingly, Toyota’s hybrid sales are actually booming, even as total RAV4 numbers drop. Through September, 200,209 RAV4 hybrids found homes (up 44%), plus 32,228 plug-in hybrids (up a whopping 92%). That’s 232,437 electrified RAV4s in total.

So, people still want electrified RAV4s – the overall sales dip is more about what’s on the lot than what’s under the hood.

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Toyota’s still the big dog in US sales, but Honda’s picking up speed. Toyota moved 1,876,614 vehicles through September (up just 0.6%), while Honda’s at 1,149,261 (up 4.7%).

September was a good month for both companies. Toyota’s sales increased 8.4% to 201,306 units, while Honda’s rose 15.9% to 121,796. In the third quarter, Toyota was up 0.6% and Honda grew by 9.3%.

Toyota’s overall sales are steady, even though RAV4 sales have dropped due to limited inventory during the switch to a new model. As the redesigned RAV4 arrives at more dealerships, we’ll soon see how it compares to the CR-V.

This story was originally published by Autoblog on Oct 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Features section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.