"We are not waiting for the Chinese to enter mature markets and make our lives difficult there," said senior vice president Carlos Tavares.

"We are preparing our own strategy and our own aggressive stance."

That strategy includes: an expansion into emerging markets; developing new partnerships to leverage risk; a practical approach to improving fuel efficiency; and a focus on improving affordability in all vehicle classes.

Chinese automakers are currently too occupied with responding to the rapid growth of their home market to devote serious resources to expanding into exports, Tavares said.

But there is no doubt that they will eventually become players on the global stage.

"The speed at which it can happen is a point of speculation but we will plan for that fight," he said in an interview on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show.

"If I'm telling you we have an entry car strategy we've dedicated technical specs to be very affordable and cost efficient it's because we plan on that risk," he said.

"If we are discussing with a number of Indian partners it's also because we believe that in India there is a frugality mindset, most probably one of the highest cost-efficient supplier bases you can find in the world."

The global automotive market continues to fragment and become more diversified and Nissan plans to expand its product coverage into new segments and new countries, Tavares said.

Nissan is expected to achieve record sales in Europe and the United States and has expanded its share in Japan. But the largest opportunities for growth are in emerging markets like China, Russia, India and Brazil.

"If your market share is below the average in a very mature market it's going to be much more difficult to grow than in an emerging market so one important strategic decision is how you allocate your resources," he said.

"We are trying to do both by having global products."

The key to a successful global product is to design each vehicle for a specific customer base. If the product has enough substance to succeed in one market, that consistency will translate elsewhere, he said.

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