About Nissan
Nissan Motor Company Ltd usually shortened to Nissan is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. As of 2013, Renault holds a 43.4% voting stake in Nissan, while Nissan holds a 15% non-voting stake in Renault. Carlos Ghosn serves as CEO of both companies. Nissan Motor sells its cars under the Nissan, Infiniti, Datsun, and NISMO brands
. Nissan was the sixth largest automaker in the world behind Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor Group, and Ford in 2012.[10] Taken together, the Renault–Nissan Alliance would be the world’s fourth largest automaker. Nissan is the leading
History
Masujiro Hashimoto founded the Kwaishinsha Motor Car Works in 1911. In 1914, the company produced its first car, called DAT. The new car's name was an acronym of the company's investors' family names:
• Kenjiro Den (田 健次郎 Den Kenjirō?)
• Rokuro Aoyama (青山 禄郎 Aoyama Rokurō?)
• Meitaro Takeuchi (竹内 明太郎 Takeuchi Meitarō?)
It was renamed to Kwaishinsha Motorcar Co., Ltd. in 1918, and again to DAT Jidosha & Co., Ltd. (DAT Motorcar Co.) in 1925. DAT Motors built trucks in addition to the DAT and Datsun passenger cars. The vast majority of its output were trucks, due to an almost non- existent consumer market for passenger cars at the time. Beginning in 1918, the first DAT trucks were produced for the military market. At the same time, Jitsuyo Jidosha Co., Ltd. produced small trucks using parts, and materials imported from the United States. In 1926 the Tokyo-based DAT Motors merged with the Osaka-based Jitsuyo Jidosha Co., Ltd. (実用自 動車製造株式会社 Jitsuyō Jidōsha Seizō Kabushiki-Gaisha?) a.k.a. Jitsuyo Jidosha Seizo (established 1919 as a Kubota subsidiary) to become DAT Jidosha Seizo Co., Ltd Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (ダット自動車製造株式会社 DAT Jidōsha Seizō Kabushiki-Gaisha?) in Osaka until 1932. From 1923 to 1925, the company produced light cars and trucks under the name of Lila. In 1931, DAT came out with a new smaller car, the first "Datson", meaning "Son of DAT". Later in 1933 after Nissan took control of DAT Motors, the last syllable of Datson was changed to "sun", because "son" also means "loss" (損) in Japanese, hence the name "Datsun" (ダットサン Dattosan?). In 1933, the company name was Nipponized to Jidosha-Seizo Co., Ltd. ( 自動車製造株式会社 Jidōsha Seizō Kabushiki-Gaisha?, "Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd.") and was moved to Yokohama. Nissan Motor founded in 1934
In 1934, Aikawa separated the expanded automobile parts division of Tobata Casting and incorporated it as a new subsidiary, which he named Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (日産自動車 Nissan Jidōsha?). The shareholders of the new company however were not enthusiastic about the prospects of the automobile in Japan, so Aikawa bought out all the Tobata Casting shareholders (using capital from Nihon Industries) in June 1934. At this time, Nissan Motor effectively became owned by Nihon Sangyo and Hitachi. In 1935, construction of its Yokohama plant was completed. 44 Datsuns were shipped to Asia, Central and South America. In 1935, the first car manufactured by an integrated assembly system rolled off the line at the Yokohama plant. Nissan built trucks, airplanes, and engines for the Japanese military. In 1937, the company's main plant was moved to the occupied Manchuria, and named Manchuria Heavy Industries Developing Co. In 1940, first knockdown kits were shipped to Dowa Jidosha Kogyo (Dowa Automobile), one of MHID’s companies, for assembly. In 1944, the head office was moved to Nihonbashi, Tokyo, and the company name was changed to Nissan Heavy Industries, Ltd., which the company kept through 1949. Relationships with other car companies
Ford
In Australia, between 1989 and 1992, Nissan Australia shared models with Ford Australia under a government-backed scheme known as the Button Plan, with a version of the Nissan Pintara being sold as the Ford Corsair and a version of the Ford Falcon as the Nissan Ute.[46] From 1993 to 2002, Nissan partnered with Ford to market the Mercury Villager and the Nissan Quest. The two minivans were virtually identical aside from cosmetic differences. In 2002, Nissan and Ford announced the discontinuation of the arrangement. Volkswagen
Nissan licensed the Volkswagen Santana. Production began 1984, at Nissan's Zama, Kanagawa. Production ended in May 1990. Alfa Romeo
From 1983 to 1987, Nissan cooperated with Alfa Romeo to build the Arna. The goal was for Alfa to compete in the family hatchback market segment, and for Nissan to establish a foothold in the European market. After Alfa Romeo's takeover by Fiat, both the car and cooperation were discontinued. General Motors
In 2013, GM announced its intentions to rebadge the Nissan NV200 commercial van as the 2015 model year Chevrolet City Express, to be introduced by end of 2014. Holden, GM's Australian subsidiary, sold versions of the Nissan Pulsar as the Holden Astra between 1984 and 1989. Alliance with Renault
In 1999, with Nissan facing severe financial difficulties, Nissan entered an alliance with Renault S.A. of France. Signed on 27 March 1999, the Renault-Nissan Alliance was the first of its kind involving a Japanese and French car manufacturer, each with its own distinct corporate culture and brand identity. In June 2001, Carlos Ghosn was named Chief Executive Officer of Nissan. In May 2005, Ghosn was named President of Renault. He was appointed President and CEO of Renault on 6 May 2009. Nissan's management is a trans-cultural, diverse team. The Renault-Nissan Alliance has evolved over years to Renault holding 43.4% of Nissan shares, while Nissan holds 15% of Renault shares. The alliance itself is incorporated as the Renault-Nissan B.V., founded on 28 March 2002 under Dutch law. Renault-Nissan B.V. is equally owned by Renault and Nissan. Under CEO Ghosn's "Nissan Revival Plan" (NRP), 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. 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 the Japanese Government, which awarded him the Japan Medal with Blue Ribbon in 2004. On 7 April 2010, Daimler AG exchanged a 3.9% share of its holdings for 3.9% from both Nissan and Renault. This triple alliance allows for the increased sharing of technology and development costs, encouraging global cooperation and mutual development. On 12 December 2012, the Renault–Nissan Alliance formed a joint venture with Russian Technologies (Alliance Rostec Auto BV) with the aim of becoming the long-term controlling shareholder of AvtoVAZ, Russia’s largest car company and owner of the country's biggest selling brand, Lada. The takeover was completed in June 2014, and the two companies of the Renault-Nissan Alliance took a combined 67.1% stake of Alliance Rostec, which in turn acquired a 74.5% of AvtoVAZ, thereby giving Renault and Nissan indirect control over the Russian manufacturer. Carlos Ghosn was appointed Chairman of the Board of AvtoVAZ on 27 June 2013. Taken together, the Renault–Nissan Alliance sells one in ten cars worldwide, and would be the world's fourth largest automaker with 2013 sales of 8,266,098 units. Other alliances and joint ventures
• In 2003, Nissan and Dongfeng Motor Corporation formed a 50:50 joint venture with the name Dongfeng Motor Co. Ltd (DFL). The company calls itself “China's first automotive joint venture enterprise with a complete series of trucks, buses, light commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles,” and “the largest joint-venture project of its scale.”
• On 7 April 2010, Daimler AG exchanged a 3.9% share of its holdings for 3.9% from both Nissan and Renault. This triple alliance allows for the increased sharing of technology and development costs, encouraging global cooperation and mutual development.
• On 12 December 2012, the Renault–Nissan Alliance formed a joint venture with Russian Technologies (Alliance Rostec Auto BV) with the aim of becoming the long-term controlling shareholder of AvtoVAZ, Russia’s largest car company and owner of the country's biggest selling brand, Lada. Carlos Ghosn was appointed Chairman of the Board of AvtoVAZ on 27 June 2013.
• Nissan is in an alliance with Ashok Leyland in India, producing light commercial vehicles.
• Together with Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan develops mini cars which are produced at Mitsubishi’s Mizushima plant in Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan. Brands
Nissan: Nissan's volume models are sold worldwide under the Nissan brand. Datsun: Until 1983, Nissan automobiles in most export markets were sold under the Datsun brand. In 1984 the Datsun brand was phased out and the Nissan brand was phased in. All cars in 1984 had both the Datsun and Nissan branding on them and in 1985 the Datsun name was completely dropped. In July 2013, Nissan announced the relaunch of Datsun as a brand targeted at emerging markets. Infiniti: Since 1989, Nissan has sold its luxury models under the Infiniti brand. 2012 Infiniti changed its headquarters to Hong Kong, where it is incorporated as Infiniti Global Limited. President is former Audi of America chief Johan de Nysschen. From 2014 on, Infiniti cars are being sold also in Japan. NISMO: Nissan's in-house tuning shop is NISMO, short for "Nissan Motorsport International Limited." NISMO is being re-positioned as Nissan's performance brand.
