The strong yen and ongoing debt crisis in Europe will force Nissan Motor Co and Renault PA to operate in "crisis mode" in two of the world's major auto markets, their chief executive said on Tuesday.

"Over (a) period of five to 10 years, I have no doubt that the lack of restructuring in Europe, particularly for those carmakers who need it, is going to be a drag on their potential strategy in the future," CEO Carlos Ghosn told car dealers ahead of the New York Auto Show.

He also said that the strength of the yen continues to put Nissan at a disadvantage.

While Ghosn was cautious about markets in Japan and Europe, Nissan continues to make gains in the United States. U.S. data released on Tuesday showed a 12.5 percent increase in sales for March.

Additionally, automakers overall are earning more profit per vehicle. Incentives continued to trend downward last month while the average transaction price per new vehicle rose, autos consultant TrueCar.com said.

(Reporting By Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)

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