Nissan Motor Co.'s Chinese joint venture factories in Zhengzhou and Xiangyang still have capacity to build more vehicles and the Japanese automaker will prioritize maximizing output at those plants before building a new one, a senior executive said.

Speaking to reporters at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Thursday, Senior Vice President Jun Seki, who heads Nissan's Chinese joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group Co., said the partners planned to announce details regarding a new factory they are considering by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, the partners said they planned to boost annual sales in China to 2.6 million vehicles by 2022 from 1.5 million last year.