Don't expect much improvement in the European car market until at least 2016, warned Ghosn.

The slump in the European market continues to worsen, exceeding even the most gloomy forecasts, cautioned Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of the Renault/Nissan Alliance, and it is likely to take at least three years before things start to rebound, he said during a media roundtable at the Geneva Motor Show.

In a wide-ranging conversation, the Brazilian-born executive said that despite slow sales he remains a strong proponent of battery power. He also said that global corporations should take a hint from the ballot initiative approved by Swiss voters last weekend and put executive salaries up for shareholders to decide.

European car sales plunged to the lowest level in nearly two decades last year and Ghosn, like many other observers, had been forecasting demand would slip another 3% to 5% as the Continent continued to struggle with a massive debt crisis that nearly shattered the European Union. But based on the results of the first two months of the year, the car market could post as much as an 8% drop for 2013, with little sign that the situation is ready to bottom out, warned the executive.

“The only question is whether it will be bad or very bad” in 2013, said Ghosn, adding that, “I don’t think anybody is forecasting a pick-up of the European market for the next three years.”

The situation is severe enough to be generating billions of euros in losses and forcing makers to take steps normally avoided in Europe, such as closing plants and ordering major layoffs. Some observers fear that a few of the weakest automakers also might fail.

For his part, Ghosn said he doesn’t expect that. As happened with Renault’s French rival, the deeply troubled PSA Peugeot Citroen, Ghosn believes the various European governments would step in, if for no other reason than to protect national job bases.

“I don’t think any country in Europe will let a manufacturer fail,” he insisted. “They will do it (step in) to save jobs.”  But he also warned that if this happens, it is very possible, “That will wipe out shareholders.”

The opening of the media preview at the Geneva Motor Show came just days after voters approved one of the world’s toughest ballot initiatives aimed at curbing what proponents have called the “rip-off” of excessive executive pay. The measure will put limits on future compensation and also subject such payments to stockholder approval if the company is registered in Switzerland.

Perhaps surprisingly, Ghosn appeared sympathetic on the issue. “At the end of the day, executive pay (should) have to be voted by shareholders.” That is, he stressed, “the only way to end the debate,” which has been taking place in a number of other countries, including traditionally business-friendly nations like Switzerland.

And were shareholders to approve what “the government still considers consider excessive, okay, so then tax it,” added the executive.

An early and intense advocate for battery-electric propulsion, Ghosn has remained a supporter despite sales that have lagged many early forecasts. If anything, he insisted he was pleased with the 70,000 electric vehicles collectively sold by Nissan and Renault over the last several years.  The makers are hoping to generate even more demand – Nissan in particular as it ramps up production of its Leaf model at a new plant in Tennessee.

Meanwhile the two partners will be adding still more models, such as the luxury battery-electric vehicle Nissan’s luxury brand Infiniti plans to bring to market in 2014.

On the positive side, argued Ghosn, “the perception of electric cars has changed,” later for the better. But he also acknowledged there are still a number of serious challenges making it difficult to take the technology to the mainstream, including the lack of range and the high cost of today’s batteries, and the lack of a public charging infrastructure.

“People want environmentally friendly cars but they don’t want to pay for them,” Ghson asserted.

As to what could charge up the electric vehicle market, he suggested “the breakthrough will come from China.”

That country, he noted, is quickly becoming the world’s biggest importer of oil. It also has a worsening air pollution problem. That has led Chinese regulators to aim at putting 2 million electric vehicles on the nation’s roads by 2020.

In fact, as TheDetroitBureau.com reported last week, well-placed Chinese insiders believe the government there will take even stricter measures to force a switch from gas to battery power.

“We have to be patient,” Ghosn said of Nissan’s commitment to electrification. “When it takes off, we will be ready.”