Nissan warns of continued China sales drop

Nissan Motor’s (7201.TYO) Chinese joint venture, Dongfeng, may have recorded a 20% annual decline in sales in China in the first two months of 2013, The Wall Street Journal reported, quoting Dongfeng Nissan President Kimiyasu Nakamura. Speaking from the launch of a new model of the Teana, Nakamura cautioned on Tuesday that full data for February was still not available and that the varying timing of Lunar New Year holiday periods affect data every year. A territorial dispute between China and Japan caused sales to drop 11% last year from the year before, to 1,181,500 vehicles, compared with a 22% gain in 2011.