Mitsubishi Motors Corp. launched fully remodeled eK Wagon and eK Sport minivehicles Wednesday in hopes of meeting its domestic sales target of 302,000 units for this business year.

MMC's domestic sales plunged after a series of defect coverup scandals came to light in 2004, and Japan's fourth-largest minivehicle maker is currently under corporate rehabilitation.

President Osamu Masuko said demand for minivehicles in Japan -- which hit a record 1.924 million sales in 2005 -- is growing, due partly to rising gas prices, and MMC intends to cash in on the expanding market.

Minivehicles, which have an engine displacement of up to 660cc, consume about 40 percent less fuel in general compared with cars with engine displacement of 2,000cc, according to a minivehicle industry body.

"I believe the minivehicle market will soon reach the 2 million unit mark," Masuko told a news conference at MMC's head office in Tokyo. "Customer demand is diversifying . . . and we want to respond" by providing various types of minivehicles, he said.

The new eK Wagon and eK Sport feature an electric sliding door, a rarity for a minivehicle.

Customers can choose between the sliding door and an ordinary door, with the sliding door costing about 50,000 yen more.

Adding the sliding door is one of the ideas that came from a survey the automaker conducted to develop the new eK series, MMC said.

The eK Wagon is priced at 913,500 yen to 1.22 million yen, while the eK Sport ranges from 1.26 million yen to 1.48 million yen. The combined monthly sales target is 6,000 units.

MMC officials said sales of minivehicles account for about 70 percent of the firm's revenue from auto sales. By launching other models, including a fully revamped Pajero sport utility vehicle later this year, MMC will try to become less dependent on the low-margin minivehicle business, officials said.