Shanghai, April 23 (Gasgoo.com) Japan's third- biggest carmaker Nissan Motor will raise its annual production capacity in China by nearly 68% to 900,000 vehicles by 2012, even as it expects sales growth to slow, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said today at the Beijing auto show, Bloomberg reported.

China's auto sales growth may slow to about 15% this year after surging 46% last year to 13.6 million units, surpassing the U.S. as the world's largest market. Nissan's plan to raise capacity amid slowing growth suggests it may outpace rivals in China.

Nissan said it is spending 5 billion yuan ($732 million) to expand its plant in Guangzhou, Guangdong province to build 600,000 vehicles a year by 2012, from current 430,000 units. The Tiida compact, Livina series and other Nissan models are made at the factory.

In the first three months, Nissan sold 243,000 vehicles in China, up 68% from a year earlier, after its China sales rose 39% to 756,000 units in 2009. The company expects its sales (of imported and locally-made vehicles) in the Chinese market to rise by 12% this year.

Nissan will introduce its March compact in China in the second half of this year. The company also plans to sell "hundreds" of its Leaf electric vehicles in the Chinese market in 2011 and may eventually build it at a plant in Guangzhou.

Together with its Chinese partner Dongfeng Motor Corp, Nissan has signed agreements with Guangzhou and Wuhan municipalities to promote its electric vehicles, including the Leaf cars, in the two Chinese cities.

The Dongfeng-Nissan venture currently produces passenger cars at Huadu plant in southern Guangdong province and Xiangfan plant in central Hubei province, and light commercial vehicles are made at Zhengzhou Nissan in central Henan province.

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