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  A city runabout and a smaller Pajero version should hit our Aussie shores within 12 to 18 months.

Australia's baby boom will soon lead to the birth of two new tiny tykes with Mitsubishi badges.

A city runabout and a scaled-down Pajero are both already created and should be in Australia within 12-18 months.

Each will have a sub-$20,000 pricetag and are part of an overall objective to make Mitsubishi the leading motoring importer down under.

Details of the compact plan are still secret but Mitsubishi is giving early hints.

‘Yes, we have a few things coming," admits Paul Unerkov, vice-president of brand and marketing for the company.

"We can see that there are some opportunities with some smaller models.

"The town car will come first and will be much the same as the plug-in iMiEV, without the batteries.

There are a range of i-car models in Japan, both small hatchbacks and coupes, and the most likely choice for Australia is a five-door which could be priced below $15,000.

"We have been looking at that segment for some time. That's a no-brainer," Unerkov says.

But he gives no details on price or on-sale targets, or even the chance for an i-car model change before Australian sales.

The four-wheel drive would be a potential rival to the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, but would be very different to the iO which failed in Australia.

"That car was outdated before we got it. This would be brand new," says Unerkov.

So it's likely to be a scaled-down Pajero with genuine rough-road ability, as well as the trendy SUV high-rider cabin. The size and price fighters have the potential to boost Mitsubishi sales by more than 300 vehicles a month, as well as bringing new owners in at the bottom of the range. It's an important move for the company, which is still working on the right range following the end of local production.

It is doing well with the Lancer, Triton and Outlander and, even sales in 2009 are down slightly on the same time in 2008, the big three are actually in short supply. The four-wheel drives are also in their final months before a mid-life tickle.

"Triton and Outlander are set for updates in the third quarter," says Mitsubishi spokesperson, Lenore Fletcher, without giving any further details.