Toyota's RAV4 Engineer Drove a Chinese Car — Here's What He Found

If you've been watching Chinese car brands quietly stack up awards and sales numbers in Australia, you're not alone. The engineer leading development of Toyota's next-generation RAV4 has been watching too — closely enough to get behind the wheel of one.

Toyota RAV4 chief engineer Yoshinori Futonagane confirmed he's personally driven a Chinese vehicle as part of his research into the updated family SUV. He wouldn't name the model, but given BYD is the dominant Chinese brand selling in Japan, it's the obvious candidate. His verdict? More positive than you might expect from a Toyota lifer.

"Their software looks very advanced, they build a lot into that. But to be honest, their cars aren't bad either. They're actually not too bad," Futonagane said through an interpreter — with the note that his original Japanese phrasing was reportedly even more complimentary.

"I have to say their autonomous driving, their self-driving technology is amazing, incredibly advanced."

What This Means for WA Buyers Considering a RAV4

The RAV4 remains one of the best-selling SUVs in Western Australia, and for good reason. It handles Perth's suburban sprawl, the long hauls up to Geraldton or across to Kalgoorlie, and tows a tinnie without complaint. Toyota's reputation for reliability is baked into its resale value — a real consideration when WA rego costs and fuel prices already eat into your budget.

But the Chinese brands are closing the gap fast. BYD, GWM, and Chery are all sitting on WA dealership floors right now, offering technology packages at price points that are genuinely hard to ignore. The fact that Toyota's own chief engineer is studying them tells you everything about where the competitive pressure is coming from.

Toyota's response isn't to panic-copy. Futonagane was clear that any borrowed ideas would be filtered through Toyota's established priorities.

"We're focused, we're watching that very closely, but from our point of view, we're not going to stray from our priorities of safety, security and quality," he said. "We have to try and put all of those ideas they've got in China through that filter... It's not necessarily everything."

For buyers who've been burned before by unreliable tech in otherwise appealing vehicles, that measured approach is probably reassuring.

Toyota's Leadership Has Sounded the Alarm

Futonagane's measured comments sit against a more urgent backdrop inside Toyota's leadership. Former Toyota CEO Koji Sato — who stepped down in April this year, succeeded by Kenta Kon — made no attempt to soften his message at a recent supplier conference.

"Unless things change, we will not survive. I want everyone to acknowledge this sense of crisis," Sato said.

Sato also announced Toyota would cut what it considered excessive internal quality standards — including a rule that was forcing suppliers to scrap 10,000 wiring harnesses a month due to cosmetic discolouration on out-of-sight plastic parts. That kind of waste, Toyota has acknowledged, is a competitive liability when Chinese manufacturers are building and iterating at speed.

Toyota isn't the only Japanese brand paying attention. Mitsubishi engineering fellow Kaoru Sawase drove a BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute on a controlled off-road test course in Japan and came away with a split verdict — impressed by the electric motor control and tyre response, but noting the thermal management cut performance before it could complete demanding climbs. A relevant data point for anyone in WA who's eyeing a hybrid ute for work use beyond the bitumen.

The broader picture for WA car shoppers is straightforward: competition is good, and it's pushing every manufacturer to lift their game. Whether you're buying a RAV4 for the school run in the northern suburbs or a work vehicle heading out to a regional site, the technology on offer across the market in 2025 is better — and more hotly contested — than it's ever been.