Asia's electric car sales drift into the slow lane

TOKYO -- Makoto Uchida could not have been clearer. Electric cars, the CEO of Nissan Motor said last month, would be a dominant theme for his financially battered company -- with China leading the way.

The Japanese automaker was regarded as one of the early front-runners in commercializing electric passenger vehicles with its Nissan Leaf. Now, Uchida said at a news conference on May 28, electric cars would be something "to focus resources" on for its restructuring plan through fiscal 2023, after the company posted an annual net loss of 671 billion yen ($6.2 billion).