Contributed
The 2009 Toyota Venza.

NEW YORK (AP):

Toyota rolled its first Venza wagon off the factory floor in Kentucky last week as the automaker tries to push farther into the small-vehicle market.

Toyota Motor Sales USA will price the five-person wagon between $25,975 for its V-4, front-wheel drive model, and $29,250 for the V-6, all-wheel drive model, the automaker said. The V-4 model gets an estimated 21 miles per gallon (11.2 litres per 100 kilometres) in the city and 29 (8.1 litres) on the highway, Toyota said.

Full production

The V-6 model will hit dealerships in early December, with full production and sales of both models starting in January, Toyota said.

The Japanese automaker has had success in the small-car market recently with such cars as the Yaris subcompact, one of the few cars that have posted rising sales this year in the difficult vehicle market.

Rival Honda Motor Co has had similar results with its small car, the Fit, whose sales rose 33 per cent in October alone.

The Venza, which is built in Georgetown, Kentucky, on the platform of its mid-size Camry sedan, will be sold exclusively in North America, it said. The Venza's factory, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky Inc, is Toyota's largest North American factory.

Difficult auto market

Toyota, the No. 1 Japanese automaker by sales, has taken a beating from the difficult auto market in the US in recent months. Last week, it said its US sales tumbled 23 per cent in October and issued a grim profit forecast for its fiscal year.

However, it remains in better shape than its Detroit competitors. On Friday, General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co reported heavy third-quarter losses, and GM said it could reach the minimum cash needed to operate its business next year.