This past year marked the end of the road (paved or otherwise) for the fifth-gen 4Runner, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at Toyota‘s sales numbers. Even in its final year, with a far more modern and sophisticated model just on the horizon, more than 91,000 shoppers went home with Toyota’s mainstream off-roader in 2024. They must have really wanted that five-speed automatic.
There’s nothing here to suggest that Toyota experienced a burst of last-minute shoppers aiming to get their hands on the old 4Runner before the new one hits; in fact, 2024’s result was a marked decline. Toyota moved more than 139,000 4Runners in 2023, meaning sales dropped nearly 23%. Even if you wanted to run out and snag an old model, there may not have been any left to grab. Toyota only moved 60 4Runners in December nationwide as the automaker began phasing it out.
Still, with 92,156 units sold, the 4Runner is arguably Toyota’s most popular enthusiast model. The company only sold 11,426 examples of the GR86 all year, along with just 2,615 Supras. If you’re wondering why automakers aren’t super keen on sports coupes, well, there’s why. Toyota doesn’t break GR sales out of the broader Corolla bucket, so you’ll just have to trust us on this one: there’s no good news there either.
While some automakers have yet to report their 2024 sales data, we have some hints of what to expect to from the 4Runner’s competition. Ford moved just over 109,000 Broncos last year, splitting the difference between the 4Runner’s 2023 and 2024 performance. The Jeep Wrangler surpassed that mark in Q3 with more than 113,000 sales already in the books; a full-year figure close to 150,000 would be in line with previous results and the yearly trend of ~35,000 sales per quarter.
What remains to be seen is just how well the new model will be received. One thing’s for certain: it has big shoes to fill, for both serious off-roaders and commuters alike. Given Toyota’s rocky start electrifying its 4×4 lineup, nothing can be taken for granted.
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