Encyclopedia
, or simply called
Nissan, which formerly marketed vehicles under the
Datsun brand name, is a
Japanese automobile manufacturer. The company's main offices are located in the
Ginza area of
Chuo-ku,
Tokyo,
Japan. Nissan plans to move their headquarters to
Yokohama,
Kanagawa by 2010; the headquarters will start construction in 2007.
Nissan is among the top three Asian rivals of the "big three" in the US.
The company marketed vehicles under the Nissan and Datsun brand names until 1983, when the Datsun brand name was dropped. Nissan is Japan's second largest car company after
Toyota. After reports of poor Japanese management at Nissan during the
1990s, it agreed to the
French manufacturer
Renault buying a 44.4 percent stake in the company, while Nissan picked up a 15 percent stake in
Renault .
Under foreign-born president
Carlos Ghosn's "Nissan Revival Plan" , the company has rebounded in what many leading economists consider to be one of the most spectacular corporate turnarounds in history, catapulting Nissan to record profits and a dramatic revitalization of both its Nissan and
Infiniti model line-ups. Despite the turnaround, Infiniti sales have been a disappointment. In 2001, the company initiated Nissan 180, capitalizing on the success of the NRP. Ghosn has been recognized in
Japan for the company's turnaround in the midst of an ailing Japanese economy. Ghosn and the Nissan turnaround were featured in Japanese
manga and popular culture. His achievements in revitalizing Nissan were noted by
Emperor Akihito, who awarded him the Japan Medal with Blue Ribbon in 2004.
VQ V6 have been listed among "Ward's 10 Best Engines" for 12 straight years, since the award's inception. A new generation VQ series engine will premiere on the next generation Infiniti G35, the future Skyline GT-R and the 2007 Nissan 350Z. Their will also be a new generation 2.5VQ 4-cylinder engine that will power the next generation Altima and likely will power the upcoming SPEC-V 2007 Sentra .
History
In 1914, the Kwaishinsha Motorcar Works , established three years earlier, in Azabu-Hiroo District in
Tokyo, built the first DAT. The new car's name being the acronym of the company's partners' surnames:
- Kenjiro Den
- Rokuro Aoyama
- Meitaro Takeuchi .
The Works was renamed to Kwaishinsha Motorcar Co. in 1918, and again, in 1925, to DAT Motorcar Co.
The next year, the Tokyo-based company merged with the
Osaka-based Jitsuyo Jidosha Co., Ltd. as DAT Automobile Manufacturing Co. Ltd. in Osaka until 1932. In 1931, the first DATSON—meaning "Son of DAT"—was produced. However, the last syllable was changed to "sun", because "son" also means "loss" in
Japanese, hence the name "Datsun" .
In 1933, the company name was Nipponized to Jidosha-Seizo Co. Ltd. and moved to Yokohama. In 1934, Jidosha-Seizo merged with a fellow Japanese automanufacturer named Nihon Sangyo Co. Ltd. who was popularly known as "Ni-San."
The company became Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. on June 1, 1934, and was founded by Yoshisuke Aikawa. Nissan built trucks, airplanes, and engines for the Japanese military. Their main plant was moved to China after the land was captured by the military. The plant made machinery for the Japanese war effort until it was captured by American and Russian forces. For two years the company was briefly called Nissan Heavy Industries Corp. .
Like Hino and
Isuzu, but unlike
Toyota, Nissan partnered with a European company to gain access to automobile and engine designs. Nissan chose
Austin of the
United Kingdom, which later became the
British Motor Corporation. Nissan began building
Austin 7s in 1930, though the legitimacy of their license is debated. The company soon began producing a variety of Austin-derived models like the original Austin A50-based
Datsun 1000. These designs were apparently covered by a 1952-1960 license agreement between the companies. After the Nissan introduced its own models in the
1950s, they continued to develop their own engine designs past what the Austin's A- and B-family designs offered. In 1967 introduced its new highly advanced four cylinder overhead cam
Nissan L engine, which while similar to
Mercedes-Benz OHC designs was a totally new engine designed by Nissan. This engine powered the new Datsun 510, which gained Nissan respect in the worldwide
sedan market. Then, in 1970 Nissan introduced the 240Z sports car which used a six-cylinder variation of the L series engine. The 240z was an immediate sensation and lifted Nissan to world class status in the automobile market.
In 1966, Nissan merged with the Prince Motor Company, bringing into its range more upmarket cars, including the
Skyline and
Gloria. The Prince name was eventually abandoned, with successive Skylines and Glorias bearing the Nissan name - however, "Prince" is still used in names of certain Nissan dealers in Japan. Nissan would introduce a new luxury brand for the US market in the late 1990s called
Infiniti.
In the wake of the fuel crisis, Nissan became one of the world's largest exporters of automobiles and set up new factories in
Mexico and
Australia.
The firm established assembly operations in the
United States in the early 1980s, with a plant in
Smyrna, Tennessee. This facility at first built only trucks, but has since been expanded to produce several car lines. An engine plant in
Decherd, Tennessee followed, and most recently a second assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi.
In order to overcome export tariffs and delivery costs to its European customers, Nissan contemplated establishing a plant inside Europe's borders. After an extensive review,
Sunderland in United Kingdom was chosen due to the local availability of a highly skilled workforce and its position near major ports. The plant was completed in 1986 as the subsidiary Nissan Motor Manufacturing Ltd. Since then it has arisen to achieve the highly coveted title of being the most productive plant in Europe, and by 2007 will be producing 400,000 vehicles per year.
Financial difficulties in Australia in the late
1980s caused Nissan to cease production there. Due to the "Button Plan" the Australian operation was unique as the Nissan products were also rebadged both by Holden , and Ford .
Nissan also produces cars at its factory near
Pretoria,
South Africa.
In 2002, Toyota and Nissan agree to on Hybrid Technologies and in 2004, Nissan s
Altima Hybrid Prototype.
Nissan began development of FCVs in 1996 and launched limited lease sales of the
X-Trail FCV in Japan in fiscal year 2003.
On May 17, 2006 Nissan releases Atlas 20 hybrid
truck in Japan.
On June 30, 2006,
General Motors convened an emergency board meeting to discuss a proposal by shareholder
Kirk Kerkorian to form an alliance between
GM and
Renault-
Nissan. CEO Rick Wagoner is studying the proposal.
The company's head office is now in Tokyo but will move back to Yokohama in 2009. Nissan North America will relocate its headquarters from
Gardena, California to
Franklin, Tennessee in 2008. It is due to California's business regulations and high costs doing business in California.
Products
Nissan has produced an extensive range of mainstream cars and
trucks, initially for domestic consumption but exported around the world since the
1950s. There was a major strike in 1953.
It also produced several memorable
sports cars, including the Datsun Fairlady 1500, 1600 and 2000 Roadsters, the
Z-car, an affordable sports car originally introduced in 1969; and the
Skyline GT-R, a powerful
all-wheel-drive sports coupe.
In 1985, Nissan created a tuning division,
NISMO, for competition and performance development of such cars.
Until 1982, Nissan automobiles in most export markets were sold under the Datsun brand. Since 1989, Nissan has sold its luxury models in North America under the
Infiniti brand.
Nissan also sells a small range of
keicars, mainly as a joint venture with other Japanese manufacturers like
Suzuki or
Mitsubishi. Nissan does not develop these cars. Nissan also has shared model development of Japan domestic cars with other manufacturers, particularly
Mazda,
Subaru,
Suzuki and
Isuzu.
In China, Nissan produces cars in association with the Dongfeng Motor Group including the 2006 Nissan Livina Geniss. This is the first in the range of a new worldwide family of medium sized cars and is to make its world debut at the Guangzhou International Motor Show.
Non-Automobile Products
Nissan has also had a number of ventures outside the automotive industry, most notably the Tu-Ka mobile phone service , which was sold to DDI and Japan Telecom in 1999. Nissan also owns Nissan Marine, a joint venture with
Marubeni Corporation that produces motors for boats and other maritime equipment.
See also
- Nissan Diesel
- Nissan Group
- Renault
- Jatco
- Dongfeng Motor Company
- Dongfeng Nissan-Diesel Company
- List of Nissan vehicles
- List of Nissan engines
- EPA 2004 fuel economy report
- Nissan Green Shop Certification System
External links
