The success of the alliance between Renault and Nissan Motor is due to our ability to unlock the potential of our cultural diversity -- both across the alliance and within the individual companies. The alliance's management teams are made up of not only Japanese and French employees, but those from many nationalities from all around the world. At Nissan alone, 20 of our 52 executive officers are from outside Japan and represent more than 10 different nations. Of our 10 executive committee members, half are Japanese and half are from outside Japan.
But simply being diverse is not enough. The challenge is how to achieve unity through diversity and maximize its potential. That has been an important goal for me as CEO. If you look at the world's automobile market, 90 million cars are sold annually, and only 5% of those are Japanese cars sold in Japan. Meanwhile, Nissan does business not only in Japan but in more than 160 countries and regions, and we have employees of various nationalities who are experts in their own region, each with significant experience. As Japanese and non-Japanese work together and learn together, this cooperation contributes to our overall performance. Our differences are many, but our potential together is great.
