Nissan China JV expects 2010 sales to reach 1 mln

Nissan Motor Co.'s joint venture in China said Wednesday it expects sales in China to reach 1 million units next year instead of 2012, and aims to sell 600,000 passenger vehicles next year, up 16% from projected sales volume of 517,000 units this year.

The growth target for 2010, given by Kimiyasu Nakamura, the president of Nissan's Dongfeng Motor Co. joint venture in China, is lower than the 48% increase the company projected for this year

China's automobile sales will continue to grow next year, Nakamura said, adding that he expects sales growth in inland cities to be strong. Apart from passenger vehicles, Nissan also sells heavy and light commercial vehicles in China.

Dongfeng Motor, Nissan's joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Corp., sold 47,099 passenger automobiles in November, up 40.9% from the same month last year, Nakamura said at a press briefing.

The company sold 469,559 passenger automobiles in the January-November period, up 51.3% from a year earlier, he added.

He said growth was driven by Beijing's move to cut the purchase tax on vehicles with engines up to 1.6 liters and the company's expansion of its dealer network into smaller cities.

Beijing's recent decision to increase the purchase tax for small vehicles to 7.5% from 5% isn't likely to affect the company's sales target, he added. The tax had been halved in January from the original 10%.

Dongfeng Motor expects to face capacity constraints in 2010, Nakamura said, adding the company has added a third shift at its plants in Xiangfan and Huadu in southern China.

Dongfeng Motor will also add a new production line at an existing plant in Zhengzhou, central China, he said.

Nissan will start its global launch for a compact car in China next year, Nissan (China) Investment Co. said in a statement, without providing a specific date.

Last month, Nissan and its Chinese joint-venture partner, Dongfeng Motor Co., signed an agreement with the Guangzhou government to set up an electric-car program, part of Nissan's global effort to help accelerate use of battery-powered all-electric cars.

A senior Nissan executive said in November the Yokohama-based automobile maker would consider plans to make all-electric cars at a plant it runs jointly with Donfeng in Guangzhou. "No official decision has been made, but the Huadu plant is a good possible site for electric-car production among all the production sites we have in China," Nakamura said.

Sales of Nissan's luxury Infiniti automobiles in China will likely rise to 5,000 units this year from 4,060 units in 2008, the statement said.

The company plans to almost double the number of Infiniti dealerships in China to 30 by the end of 2011, from 17 currently, it said.