TOKYO (Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Japan’s fifth-largest carmaker, unveiled a revamped Toppo minicar to help stem declining domestic sales.

The company aims to sell 2,000 Toppos a month, the Tokyo- based automaker said Wednesday in a statement. The car, which goes on sale on Wednesday, is priced between 934,500 yen ($8,819) and 1.57 million yen, it said.
Mitsubishi Motors’s minicar sales have fallen 15 percent this year through August, the biggest drop among domestic minicar makers, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association. The new Toppo will compete in a segment dominated by Suzuki Motor Corp.’s WagonR and Daihatsu Motor Co.’s Move.
“The company will not be able to prevent declining sales with the revamped Toppo,” said Hirofumi Yokoi, an analyst at consulting company CSM Worldwide in Tokyo. “Other automakers such as Daihatsu and Suzuki have a substantial lead with their models.”
Suzuki’s top-selling WagonR is priced between 819,000 yen and 1.13 million yen and Daihatsu's Move costs between 1.02 million yen and 1.36 million yen.
Among Japan’s best-selling vehicles in August, five were minicars, including Daihatsu’s Tanto, Move and the WagonR as near-record gasoline prices made minicars more attractive to budget-conscious car buyers. Minicars are powered by engines no larger than 0.66 liters.
-------Minicar segment
The average price of Japan’s regular-grade gasoline fell 5.7 percent last week from a record 185.1 yen a liter the week of Aug. 4, according to the Tokyo-based Oil Information Center.
“Though higher fuel prices have taken a breather, the downsizing trend in auto industry will continue, bringing more demand for minicars,” said Kai Inada, a spokesman for Mitsubishi Motors said.
The revamped Toppo is 10 percent more fuel efficient than the previous version and gets 18.8 kilometers per liter, according to Inada.
Daihatsu introduced a new Move Conte minicar on Aug. 25, Suzuki will unveil a new version of its WagonR, and Honda Motor Co. will also introduce a new Life, a minicar priced between 899,850 yen and 1.51 million yen, later this year.
Mitsubishi Motors rose 0.6 percent to 166 yen as of 1:30 p.m. in Tokyo. The shares have fallen 12 percent this year.