Economic growth is expected to drive demand for cars

Dongfeng Motor, which is half-owned by Nissan, expects to sell 300,000 cars in 2007, compared with 74,000 in 2003.

Nissan and other manufacturers including General Motors, Volkswagen and Honda, have identified China as a key market.

Despite its rapidly growing economy, car owners are only a small part of the world's most populous nation.

Annual sales of passenger vehicles in China topped one million for the first time last year and orders are surging again, according to data from Beijing.

While some of the world's largest economies are struggling, China is growing at an annual rate of more than 9%.

Truck sales

To meet that demand Nissan has set up a joint venture with Dongfeng Motor.

Katsumi Nakamura, chief executive of Dongfeng, said the company would also boost production of commercial vehicles and trucks to 320,000 units in 2007 from 226,000 this year.

Total sales at Nissan's Chinese business will jump to 80bn yuan by 2007 ($9.7bn; �5.7bn) compared with 40bn yuan in 2004 and 17bn yuan this year, the company said.