Japan's Honda Motor Co will launch an all-electric battery car in China next year as demand for plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) expands in the world's largest automobile market, a senior company executive said.

Yasuhide Mizuno, Honda's China chief, told reporters on the sidelines of the Shanghai auto show on Wednesday the automaker was "expediting" the development of the EV. He said he expects the car to arrive in showrooms before the end of next year.

Mizuno added that plug-in hybrid models would likely follow, but did not say when that car might hit the market in China.