MIAMI — The Toyota RAV4 was the bestselling vehicle among ethnic consumers for the 2021 model year.
IHS Markit and the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers recognized the RAV4 as the “top overall ethnic vehicle” Thursday during the Diversity Volume Leadership Awards here.
The Tesla Model Y was No. 1 in the luxury category.
The awards were based on an analysis of data from IHS Markit of more than 13 million personal new-vehicle registrations aggregated from October 2020 to September 2021.
After three quarters in 2021, the RAV4 ranked fourth in U.S. sales, at 313,447, sitting behind only the Detroit 3 full-size pickups.
Toyota and Lexus combined to pick up 10 segment awards. Other Toyota winners included the Camry in the midsize sedan category and Tacoma for midsize pickups. The Lexus NX was among the segment winners for the luxury brand, claiming the lead position for compact luxury utility vehicles.
“Our country’s population continues to become more multiracial and diverse,” said Jeff Buchanan, vice president of sales operations for the Toyota division of Toyota Motor North America, while accepting the RAV4 award. “The multiracial population has increased 276 percent over just the past 10 years. Here at Toyota, we consistently focus on the needs of our diverse customers.”
Tesla earned four awards, while Stellantis and General Motors picked up three awards apiece. Ford, Honda and Nissan each had one category win.
Marc Bland, chief diversity officer, automotive, for IHS Markit, has been pushing automakers for years to prepare for a market where minority consumers will be the majority by 2045, according to the U.S. Census. Bland believes brands should tune their messaging to better reach minority buyers.
For instance, Bland has touted the popularity of pickups among African American buyers and said that manufacturers should tailor campaigns for this audience.
“The initial goal of the DVL Awards was to create awareness within the U.S. auto industry of the top vehicles purchased by ethnic consumers,” Bland said in a statement. “We’re honored to recognize these top models and their respective manufacturers in support of their efforts to reach increasingly diverse consumer groups.”