Scandal-hit Mitsubishi Motors aims to return to the black in the key US market in 2006, while launching exports from its Illinois plant to Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East, its new president said Wednesday.

Osamu Masuko, who was sworn in as president and chief operating officer of Japan's fourth-largest carmaker in January, said the company would hit the target alone, denying speculation it might join forces with other automakers.

Mitsubishi will focus on a few popular models, a shift away from its costly full-range strategy, while trying to restore consumer confidence hit by defect cover-ups, Masuko told foreign news agencies in an interview.