The
beginnings of the Nissan Motor Company
Limited can be traced way back to 1911. Masujiro Hashimoto founded the Kwaishinsha
Motor Car Works on 1st July, 1911 in Japan. It was the first
automobile manufacturing company of Japan. In 1914 the company produced its
first car, the DAT (acronym for the surnames of the company investors). In 1925
the company changed its name to DAT Motors, in addition to trucks in also
produced DAT and Datsun passenger cars. However, a large majority of its output
were trucks due to a non-existent market for passenger cars at that time. In
1926, DAT Motors merged with Osaka-based Jitsuyo Jidosha Company Limited, the
new company moved headquarters to Yokohama. In 1928, Yoshisuke Aikawa founded
the holding company Nihon Sangyo. The name Nissan originated in the 1930s as an
abbreviation for Nihon Sangyo. In 1933, DAT-Jitsuyo Jidosha was merged into
Tobata Casting As Tobata Casting was a Nissan company; this was the beginning
of Nissan’s automobile manufacturing.
In
1934, the company was renamed to Nissan Motor Company, and was 100% owned by
Nihon Sangyo. With its Yokohama plant complete in 1935, 44 Datsuns were shipped
to Asia, Central and South America. American engineer William Gorham played a
key role in bringing cutting-edge technology and furthering technological
innovations at Nissan. In 1952, Nissan entered into a legal agreement with
Austin Motor Company, UK to assemble and sell Austin cars in Japan. The
agreement also gave Nissan the rights to use Austin patents, which Nissan used
to develop its own line of engines for Datsun. Nissan realized an opportunity
for the small car markets, and decided to globally expand their Datsun small
car line for markets such as Australia and the USA. They first showcased cars
at the 1958 Los Angeles Auto Show. The company formed a US subsidiary, Nissan
Motor Corporation U.S.A based in California. Nissan continued to improve their cars with
the latest technological advancements and a stylish, sporty design. Famous
Nissan cars at the time were the Datsun Fairlady
Roadster, Datsun 240Z, 510 , the
race winning 411 Series. In 1966,
Nissan merged with the Prince Motor Company, this led to Nissan bringing more
upmarket cars like the Skyline & Gloria.
By 1970, Nissan had become one of the
largest automobile exporters in the world. In the wake of the 1973 oil crisis
the demand for high-quality small economical cars grew. To meet growing demand,
Nissan opened plants in Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Taiwan
and USA. Nissan faced financial difficulties in 1999. It entered into an
alliance with Renault of France. The Renault-Nissan alliance was a first of its
kind global alliance between a Japanese and a French company. Carlos Ghosn was
named the CEO of Nissan in 2001. The ‘Nissan Revival Plan’ under the tutelage
of Ghosn saw the company bounce back to making profits, the performance of
Nissan has shocked the leading economists of the world. Considered to be one of
the most spectacular turnarounds in corporate history In
2005, Nissan entered India through its subsidiary, Nissan Motor India Private
Limited. Along with Renault invested close to $990 million to set up its
Chennai plant.
Globally Nissan along with its subsidiaries
namely Datsun, Infiniti has a very strong product portfolio. Cars such as Altima, Serana, Skyline and the
legendary Nissan GT-R have been
adored by customers throughout. The Nissan GT-R
holds the distinction of being one
of the finest supercars in recent history. Made in-house the car nicknamed as
‘Godzilla’ is world renowned for its extraordinary handling and driving
dynamics, also for its 3.8 L turbo petrol V6 engine producing 570bhp. Nissan is
by far the most successful automobile manufacturer with respect to Electric
Vehicles (EVs). Nissan introduced its first battery operated electric vehicle
the Nissan Altra at the Los Angeles
International Auto Show, 1997. In 2010, Nissan introduced the LEAF, the first mass-market EV offering.
It soon became the best-selling highway-capable EV of all time. As of
September, 2016 over 240,000 LEAFs
have been sold worldwide.
Nissan
may not be as strong a presence as its Japanese peers Honda & Toyota, but
it is certainly a force to be reckoned with. Being the 6th largest
car manufacturer in the world, it has a
great scope for growth especially in emerging markets such as India. Today it
is celebrating 83 years as a company and we certainly hope Nissan will continue
to be delivering to customers for many more years to come!
