(Yicai Global) Aug. 30 -- Renault SA, Dongfeng Motor Group Co. and Nissan (China) Investment Co. have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture to co-develop and sell electric vehicles in China, the Renault-Nissan Alliance said today in a press release.

Dongfeng will hold a 50-percent stake in the new JV, eGT New Energy Automotive Co. Renault and Nissan will each have a 25-percent stake in eGT. The plan is for eGT to be based in the city of Shiyan in China's central province of Hubei.

The JV will produce EVs at Dongfeng's plant in Shiyan, which has a production and sales capacity of 120,000 units a year. Production of eGT EVs is expected to begin in 2019, the press release said.

American automaker Ford Motor Co. [NYSE:F] unveiled an electric vehicle JV with Chinese NEV producer Anhui Zotye Automobile Co. [HK:0980] last week. In July, General Motors Co. [NYSE:GM] said it would roll out a purely electric vehicle in China in the next two years.

China is the world's largest battery-powered EV market, per the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Last year, 250,000 battery-powered EVs were sold in the country, marking a 121-percent annual increase.