The head of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Thursday it will aim to sell 70,000 of the all-new Outlander sport utility vehicle globally in fiscal 2012.

Mitsubishi Motors also set a domestic monthly sales target of 1,000 of the new Outlander, which features advanced safety technology, through the end of March, President Osamu Masuko told a news conference in Tokyo to launch the midsize SUV.

The new model is equipped with a safety system dubbed e-Assist, which keeps watch on the distance and relative speed of the vehicle in front and automatically applies the brakes in the event of a possible collision, the automaker said.

Among other features, the system sounds an alarm when a driver strays into the opposite lane, it said.

The new model is up to 22 percent more fuel-efficient than its predecessor, which was launched in 2005 and has sold 660,000 units globally, the automaker said.

The model has already hit the Russian market, where 12,000 have been sold so far, and was introduced in Europe in September. MMC plans to introduce the vehicle in China as soon as January.

Masuko said the company will be "careful" about its Outlander sales strategy in China, where Japanese automakers have been struggling with plunging sales amid a bitter territorial dispute.