Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Monday that it will introduce a car with a new diesel engine in the US market by 2010.

Mitsubishi Motors is the latest among Japanese car makers to announce plans to roll out diesel models in the United States, amid increasing demand and regulations for fuel-saving vehicles.

Honda Motor Co. said in May that it will introduce a cleaner diesel engine in the United States by 2009, while Nissan Motor Co. last month said it will launch diesel vehicles by March 2011.

Mitsubishi, Honda and Nissan all said their engines will meet the new US Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions regulations that require nitrogen oxides emissions to be as low as similar emissions from gasoline engines.

Mitsubishi, which is working with major shareholder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to develop the new diesel engine, said it will install its new engine in the Lancer midsize car model.

Also Monday, Toyota Motor Corp. said it may bring diesel vehicles to the United States in the future to enhance its fuel-efficient vehicle lineup, an executive vice president at the Japanese car maker said Monday.

Toyota, Japan's No. 1 car maker by sales volume, already sells diesel vehicles in Europe. Masatami Takimoto, an executive vice president at Toyota, said that "we can't rule out the possibility" to introduce diesel vehicles in the US market in the future.

In November, Toyota formed an alliance with Japanese truck maker Isuzu Motors Ltd. to develop diesel engines. Takimoto declined to elaborate on the alliance.