Recognised and respected the whole world over, Nissan has earned a reputation for being a top quality vehicle brand that has built on a heritage of reliability and continues to remain at the forefront of innovation.
The early years...
The story of the automotive giant began as far back as 1914 when the Kwaishinsha Motor Car Works company produced its first car named DAT. In 1931 it revealed a new smaller car aptly named Datson, meaning son of DAT. In 1930 Yoshisuke Aikawa purchased shares in DAT Motors and merged it with another Japanese manufacturer. The result? In 1934 the Nissan Motor Company Ltd was established with Aikawa as its first president. During this year it completed the construction of its Yokohama Plant and started exporting cars outside its borders to Asia, South and Central America as well as Australia, at first under the Datsun name. However war was looming, which resulted in a shift from small passenger cars to military trucks and even engines for military airplanes and motor torpedo boats.
After the war...
In 1947, after World War II had come to an end, car production at Nissan started up again. It was as this time that Nissan partnered with the established English Austin Motor Company to gain access to up-to-date engine and vehicle designs. It used this automaker's platform on its first Datsun models that were exported to the USA while it put its army vehicle production experience to use when in 1951, it built its first Patrol.
A new era...
The year 1966 saw the merger with Prince Motor Company that allowed the production of more modern cars such as the Nissan Skyline. By the end of the sixties more than 1 million vehicles had been exported. In 1969 production started on the Datsun 240Z which became one of the best selling sports cars of the seventies. In the eighties it was decided to produce and sell cars under the Nissan name, while the nineties saw some changes. In 1990 it created its luxury division, Infiniti while in 1999 Nissan agreed to a global alliance with France's Renault SA to achieve profitable growth for both companies. It worked, as Nissan experienced increased sales in the new millennium.
The present and future...
Today Nissan keeps creating new and exciting models while also improving on popular existing ranges. Nissan's commitment to a more sustainable future was also echoed with its 2010 launch of its small electric vehicle, the award-winning Leaf. And with recent exciting local offerings like the Qashqai and Juke, the future of Nissan seems incredibly bright.
The author is an experienced automobile engineer and has worked with manufacturers across the globe. The author occasionally writes Nissan Blog Posts on motoring topics that include reviews of the Nissan Micra, X-Trail, GT-R, Qashqai and the Juke.
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