© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Nissan is seen on a car ahead of a news conference at Nissan’s Sunderland plant in Sunderland, Britain, July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) -Nissan Motor said on Sunday it would establish a joint research centre with China’s leading Tsinghua University next year, focussing on research and development of electric vehicles (EVs), including charging infrastructure and battery recycling.

Nissan (OTC:) and other Japanese automakers have faced a severe sales challenge this year in China, the world’s biggest auto market, due to the popularity of domestic brands and heavy price competition amid a rapid shift to EVs.

“We hope that this collaboration will help us gain a deeper understanding of the Chinese market and develop strategies that better meet the needs of customers in China,” Nissan President and Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said in a statement.

China accounted for just over a fifth of Nissan’s worldwide sales of about 2.8 million vehicles over the first 10 months of the year, down from over a third for the same period a year earlier.

The launch of the research centre is an extension of joint research efforts the company has had with Tsinghua since in 2016 that focussed on intelligent mobility and autonomous driving technology.

Original: Stock Market News: Nissan to set up joint EV research with China’s Tsinghua University By Reuters