Nissan CEO said it had visited China recently, but its sales prospects in China were still far below production capacity.

CTOnews.com, July 26, according to Reuters, Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said at a recent briefing that he recently visited China and held talks with joint venture partner Dongfeng Motor Group: "Unfortunately, our sales prospects are now far below our production capacity."

▲ Touyuan PixabayCTOnews.com previously reported that Nissan reached an "equal agreement" with Renault today that the two sides would maintain their mutual shareholdings at 15 per cent. In addition, Nissan will invest $663 million in Ampere, the electric vehicle division spun off from Renault, which will reshape the alliance between Nissan and Renault.

Nissan said the deal would allow both sides to focus on more pressing issues and that "China remains a challenge" for Nissan.

Mr. Uchida said he expected Nissan's earnings in China to recover for some time and said he would provide more details on Nissan's new lineup in the Chinese market before the autumn.

Chinese car brands are expected to account for more than 50 per cent of car sales in the domestic market this year because of the growing dominance of electric vehicles, AlixPartners, the consultancy, said this month.

Nissan almost doubled its first-quarter profit and raised its full-year earnings forecast with the help of a weaker yen and improved sales in Japan and North America. Despite this, Nissan's performance in the Chinese market continues to be weak, with Nissan selling 358509 new cars in the Chinese market from January to June this year, down 24.4 per cent from a year earlier.