SHANGHAI, China: Nissan is making a fresh push to regain its footing in China with a US$1.4 billion investment and a pledge to speed up its response to one of the world's most competitive auto markets.

After years of lagging behind faster-moving Chinese rivals, the Japanese automaker says it is now focused on catching up. Stephen Ma, who recently transitioned from Nissan's global chief financial officer to head its China operations, acknowledged the company had been too slow.

"We have been sort of slow in approaching the market with China moving so fast," Ma said at the Shanghai auto show on Wednesday. "The Chinese brands were too fast, to be honest. They were exceptional in how fast they moved. It took everybody by surprise. Now I think we have reset."

Nissan's annual vehicle sales in China dropped to below 700,000 in 2024, less than half of what it sold just four years ago. The decline forced Nissan to cut its global sales forecast for the fiscal year ending March, with China's performance a key factor.

To reverse that trend, Ma said Nissan will invest an additional 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) into its China operations by the end of 2026. The plan includes launching 10 new energy vehicles in the country by the summer of 2027—up from its earlier goal of eight models by the end of next year.

Among the latest offerings is Nissan's first plug-in hybrid, the Frontier Pro pickup truck. The company also debuted the production version of the N7, an electric sedan developed with local partner Dongfeng, which will go on sale this month.

"We were always being criticised for being late to the plug-in hybrid trend, but now we have the first one," Ma said.

China will also play a growing role in Nissan's export strategy. Ma said the company plans to export vehicles from China to multiple global markets, though not the U.S., where high tariffs on Chinese-made cars remain in place.

"Even though I have lived and worked in the U.S. for a long time, I could not have anticipated this," he said.

Ma's efforts are being closely watched by Nissan's new CEO, Ivan Espinosa, who replaced Makoto Uchida in March. "He for sure put a huge objective on me: fast, fast, fast, fast," Ma said.