The founding of Nissan

On December 26, 1933 Jidosha-Seizo Kabushiki-Kaisha, which stands for “Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd.” in English, was founded in Japan. On this day, June 1, in 1934, that company changed its name to Nissan Motor Company. The company was originally founded to take over the production of all Datsun automobiles, which were at that time being produced by Tobata Casting Co. Ltd. In 1935 the first small Datsun’s rolled off the assembly line following grand plans by Nissan founder Yoshisuke Aikawa to mass produce 15,000 vehicles per year, a grand sum in Japan at the time. That year Datsuns also began to be exported to Australia. In 1936 Nissan purchased vehicle plans and plant facilities in order to produce Graham-Paige cars from the US in Japan. However, as it became apparent that war was coming production shifted from passenger vehicles to military trucks. During the war Nissan produced airplane and torpedo boat engines. Following WWII production resumed for Nissan trucks in 1945 and Datsun passenger cars in 1947. The company did face some troubles getting back on its feet, including labor strikes that would help fast track worker’s rights in Japan. With the introduction of the 1959 Bluebird and 1960 Cedric Nissan began to capture the hearts of the Japanese drivers. As of 1999 Nissan’s parent company is Renault and Nissan holds it’s own subsidiary brands including Infiniti and Nismo. Photos:1935 Datsun Model 14 – courtesy earlydatsun.com1959 Datsun Bluebird – courtesy nissan-global.com