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2026 Suzuki Across PHEV is a rebadged Toyota RAV4 that Australia won't get

Toyota’s best-selling SUV has been given a set of Suzuki badges for Europe, with the new-generation 2026 Toyota RAV4 to be sold as the Suzuki Across – but it won’t be making its way to Australia to challenge Toyota’s best-seller.

In Europe, the previous-generation RAV4 has been sold as the Across since 2020, but while it sported notable changes including a restyled front end, the new 2026 version has next to no changes over the RAV4 donor car beyond new badges.

Despite a new generation due in showrooms from March 2026, the RAV4 was the most popular Toyota in Australia last year, easily outselling its Mazda CX-5 and Mitsubishi Outlander SUV rivals in the process.

The RAV4’s 51,947 sales easily eclipsed Suzuki Australia’s entire range-wide tally of 15,378 vehicles in 2025, led by the Jimny SUV’s 7027 sales. The introduction of the Across, then, would potentially give Suzuki Australia a boost in volume.

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Suzuki Australia also doesn’t currently offer a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) in Australia, though it has mild-hybrid tech on models such as the Fronx small SUV and Swift city car.

However, the Across won’t become Suzuki’s first PHEV for local showrooms.

“The Across is strictly a Europe-only model and won’t be offered here,” a spokesperson for Suzuki Australia told CarExpert when asked if the SUV could challenge the RAV4 – Toyota’s best-selling model – on the local market.

The Across tops the Europe and UK lineups as the brand’s biggest and most expensive model, with the five-seat, five-door crossover SUV sitting above the S-Cross and Vitara SUVs – and offered exclusively with the RAV4’s PHEV powertrain.

The PHEV will help Suzuki meet emissions regulations, with Euro 7 regulations due to be implemented in Europe and the UK this November, but is set to cost more than any other Suzuki-badged model in showrooms.

The outgoing Across’s hefty £49,679 ($94,968) UK price is considerably more than the £26,249 ($50,178) start for the Suzuki e Vitara electric SUV, due in Australia later this year with local prices to be announced.

The e Vitara, which is built on a platform co-developed between the two brands, will return the favour by being sold as a Toyota in some countries – but not in Australia.

The 2026 Across and RAV4 use the same 2.5-litre four-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain, but while the Toyota will be sold in front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive guise, the Suzuki will be all-wheel drive only.

This means the petrol engine is paired with two electric motors, one on the front axle and one on the rear, for a combined output of 224kW.

The 22.7kWh lithium-ion battery pack gives the RAV4 and Across a range of 100km (WLTP) on electric power alone.

The Across will also share key cabin features with the RAV4, including its 12.9-inch infotainment touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, with a head-up display on higher model grades.

Model swaps between the two brands are common, with Toyota owning a minor stake of just under five per cent of Suzuki – with models such as the current Suzuki Fronx sold in Australia offered as a Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor in India, for example.

Toyota also shares models with Subaru, which it also owns a stake in, as well as its Daihatsu division. For example, for over 20 years the Toyota Camry was also sold as the Daihatsu Altis in Japan.

MORE: Explore the Suzuki showroom

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