The Venza Was Too Close to the Crown Signia to Survive

Toyota didn’t end the Venza because it was failing, but because the new Crown Signia was close enough in size, price and buyer that keeping both made little sense.

The Venza’s last model year in the U.S. was 2024, only a little more than four years after the second-generation model went on sale. Both SUVs ride on the same TNGA-K platform, both are sold only as hybrids with all-wheel drive, and Toyota decided its crossover lineup had become crowded once the Signia arrived.

Dave Christ, then general manager of Toyota’s North American operations, explained the call to Automotive News in November 2023, as reported by Motor1. "We were very happy with the Venza, and if it weren’t so close to Crown Signia, we would have kept it," he said, "but the dimensions are similar and it’s a very similar buyer, so we made the decision to sunset the Venza." Christ also said the Signia would cost "in the ballpark" of the Venza.

On paper the Signia was a step up in power and utility. Motor1 listed it at 243 horsepower against the Venza’s 219, and it can tow up to 2,700 pounds, while the Venza wasn’t rated for towing. The trade-off was efficiency, since Toyota estimated the Signia at 36 mpg while the 2024 Venza was rated at 39 mpg combined. The final Venza started at $36,315 for the LE and topped out at $44,460 for the Limited.

The switch has played out unevenly in the showroom. Toyota’s 2025 sales release shows the Venza selling 32,086 units in 2024 before falling to 707 in 2025, while the Crown Signia went from 10,263 in its partial first year to 20,550. Through September 2026 the Signia is up 10.5% to 17,983, and Toyota has sold 11 leftover Venzas, according to the third-quarter sales summary.

The Venza’s twin lives on overseas. It was sold as the Harrier in other markets, and Carscoops noted that the Japanese Harrier carried on after the Venza’s U.S. exit and received updates for 2025.

The Toyota Report Take

Christ’s explanation was honest, and on a spreadsheet it made sense to avoid two similar hybrids fighting over the same buyer. The problem is that the Signia has never matched the Venza’s volume, so Toyota traded a car people knew for one that still has to explain its name. With the Harrier still alive in Japan, bringing the Venza back would not be hard, and the sales numbers make a decent case for it.