Fresh from a takeover by French carmaker Renault, Nissan is hitting worldwide automotive markets with bold management, ambitious sales targeting, and 28 all-new models set to hit the scene in the coming years. Competition in the Australian car retailing industry is at an all-time high with major multinational carmakers eg the Volkswagen group putting big money into developing customer bases in Australia.
             These specific environmental impacts do not occur in isolation. Nissan's new hierarchy from Renault is demanding strong performance across the board, having invested hundreds of millions of dollars acquiring Nissan and developing new products. Furthermore, Nissan Australia lacks the say of larger markets such as the United States and Europe, in determining product pricing, availability, and specification. With a raft of new models on the way and the reintroduction of parent company Renault to the Australian Market, Nissan Australia is presented with some interesting marketing tools to develop the brand image. This proves to be a promising approach however it is the view of this report that the establishment of a local production arm in Australia would greatly benefit Nissan, by allowing it to compete on price and deliver the products Australian customers want while establishing a Nissan culture in Australia.
             Theory on international business sees the so-called 'six forms of separation¡ as the major obstacle to a successful international business. John Ries from the University of British Columbia sees differences in political situations, natural environments, currency and language differences, and information separation combined with physical distances to make multi-national production and distribution of products very challenging (http://pacific.commerce.ubc.ca/john/bab.htm, accessed 25/8/2002). This report will examine these effects of separation on the Australian division of car manufacturer Nissan. At present, Nissan is a Frenc...