After reporting lackluster sales for its first two quarters in China, Japanese automaker Nissan Motor has now reported an uptick in its performance in one of its largest markets. The company has taken its sales recovery as a sign of further growth in its business in China, which was heavily hit by the economic effects of the pandemic during the first few months of 2020.

For July, the Yokohama-based company sold a record total of 120,945 vehicles in China. This represented an 11.6 percent increase when compared with the same month last year. From January to June, the company sold about 596,342 vehicles, or an average of 99,390 vehicles per month.

Nissan's chairman of the management committee of Nissan China, Shohei Yamazaki, said n a statement that the uncertainty regarding the continued economic effects of the prolonged pandemic still casts a shadow on the company's outlook for the second half of the year. However, Shohei pointed out that the company is confident in the resilience and continued growth of its business in China.

The executive added that much of the success in terms of how it managed to survive the health and economic crisis in China can be attributed to the efforts of its joint venture partner, Dongfeng Motor. Shohei said that Dongfeng's coordinated systems and operations allowed the company to properly deal with the risks associated with the pandemic. Its efforts also allowed Nissan to lay a solid foundation for its eventual sales recovery, he added.

Shohei also said that Nissan will continue to enhance its collaborative efforts with its Chinese partners and dealers to ensure the continued recovery of its operations. This includes accelerated efforts identifying and meeting the needs of Chinese consumers amid the ever-changing economic environment.

In May, Nissan released its newly formulated development plan for its global operations. In the plan, Nissan identified China as one of its three core markets. Nissan plans to focus most of its efforts in its core markets, introducing new vehicle types and services.

For China, Nissan is planning to release at least seven new fully-electric vehicle models by 2023. The company is aiming to have electric vehicles account for about 23 percent of its total vehicle sales in the country.