China had its advantages for battery development, including resources and technology, and Honda was keen to wait for low-cost and high efficiency battery products from the country, said Chief Executive Takanobu Ito at an event in southern China on Tuesday.

"If there is a suitable chance, Honda hopes to develop the battery business in China," Ito told reporters, after announcing a plan to boost capacity by a third at Honda's China joint venture, Guangqi Honda.

He added that it was unlikely that electric cars would become a mainstream product in the next 10-20 years.

"There needs to be a major breakthrough in battery technology," he said, adding that Honda would instead focus on hybrids and more fuel-efficient products for the near term.

China has been an increasingly important market for Honda, although it totalled about half of the company's sales in the United States of about 1.2 million units last year.

"Honda's sales in China probably cannot surpass the United States in the next five years," Ito said. "But after 10 years, it may become the company's largest single market."

He said he expected annual U.S. car sales to bounce back to 15-16 million in the next three to five years.

Analysts forecast U.S. car sales to reach 11-12.5 million this year, versus just 10.4 million in 2009 at the height of the global recession.

Honda sold about 580,000 vehicles in China last year.