118-614: Nissan Motor Corporation ( 日産 自動車 株式会社 , Nissan Jidōsha kabushiki gaisha ) is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa , Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan and Infiniti brands, and formerly the Datsun brand, with in-house performance tuning products (including cars) under the Nismo and Autech brands. The company traces back to
236-524: A ⟨k⟩ , is often used, but the original Japanese pronunciation is kabushiki gaisha , with a ⟨g⟩ , owing to rendaku . A kabushiki gaisha must include " 株式会社 " in its name (Article 6, paragraph 2 of the Companies Act). In a company name, " 株式会社 " can be used as a prefix (e.g. 株式会社 電通 , kabushiki gaisha Dentsū , a style called 前株 , mae-kabu ) or as a suffix (e.g. トヨタ自動車 株式会社 , Toyota Jidōsha kabushiki gaisha ,
354-620: A proprietary 25 hp (19 kW ; 25 PS ) 850 cc (52 cu in) four-cylinder engine . Datsun entered the American market in 1958, with sales in California. By 1959, the company had dealers across the U.S. and began selling the 310 (known as Bluebird domestically). From 1962 to 1969 the Nissan Patrol utility vehicle was sold in the United States (as a competitor to
472-569: A $ 421 million loss in the last quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the scandal concerning Ghosn. According to a spokesperson of Nissan North America, the company had suffered from a strategy of "volume at any cost", which has been attributed by analysts to Ghosn. In January 2023, Renault said it intended to transfer almost 30% of its controlling stake in Nissan to a French trust (pending approval by both companies), reducing its shares with voting rights to
590-423: A (so-called) "close company" ( 非公開会社 , hi-kōkai gaisha ) , in which case the company (e.g. its board of directors or a shareholders' meeting, as defined in the articles of incorporation) must approve any transfer of shares between shareholders; this designation must be made in the articles of incorporation. The articles must be sealed by the incorporator(s) and notarized by a civil law notary , then filed with
708-513: A 17% cut earlier this year. Nissan also said that they would slash 9,000 jobs and cut global production capacity by a fifth. Nissan shares fell 6% on 8 November 2024 after it announced 9,000 job cuts and slashed profit forecasts due to weak sales in China and the U.S. In 1982, Nissan's first final assembly robots were installed in the Murayama plant, where the then-new March/Micra was assembled. In 1984,
826-578: A 34% controlling stake in Mitsubishi Motors. In 2017, Nissan was the sixth largest automaker in the world, after Toyota , Volkswagen Group , Hyundai Motor Group , General Motors and Ford . In 2014, Nissan was the largest car manufacturer in North America. With a revenue of $ 78 billion in 2022, Nissan was the ninth largest automobile maker in the world, as well as being the leading Japanese brand in China, Russia, and Mexico. As of April 2018, Nissan
944-511: A K.K. is carried out by one or more incorporators ( 発起人 , hokkinin , sometimes referred to as "promoters") . Although seven incorporators were required as recently as the 1980s, a K.K. now only needs one incorporator, which may be an individual or a corporation. If there are multiple incorporators, they must sign a partnership agreement before incorporating the company. The purpose statement requires some specialized knowledge, as Japan follows an ultra vires doctrine and does not allow
1062-468: A K.K. must have a board of directors ( 取締役会 , torishimariyaku kai ) consisting of at least three individuals. Directors have a statutory term of office of two years, and auditors have a term of four years. Small companies can exist with only one or two directors, with no statutory term of office, and without a board of directors ( 取締役会非設置会社 , torishimariyaku-kai hi-setchi-gaisha ) . In such companies, decisions are made via shareholder meeting and
1180-477: A K.K. to act beyond its purposes. Judicial or administrative scriveners are often hired to draft the purposes of a new company. Additionally, the articles of incorporation must contain the following if applicable: Other matters may also be included, such as limits on the number of directors and auditors. The Corporation Code allows a K.K. to be formed as a "stock company that is not a public company" ( 公開会社でない株式会社 , kōkai gaisha denai kabushiki gaisha ) , or
1298-581: A Kubota subsidiary) to become DAT Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd. ( ダット自動車製造株式会社 , Datto Jidōsha Seizō Kabushiki-Gaisha ) in Osaka until 1932. (Jitsuyo Jidosha began producing a three-wheeled vehicle with an enclosed cab called the Gorham in 1920, and the following year produced a four-wheeled version. From 1923 to 1925, the company produced light cars and trucks under the name of Lila. ) The DAT corporation had been selling full size cars to Japanese consumers under
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#17330929540481416-653: A US subsidiary, Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A. , in Gardena, California in 1960 headed by Yutaka Katayama . Nissan continued to improve the Sedan series with the latest technological advancements and chic Italianate styling for sporty cars such as the Datsun Fairlady roadsters, the race-winning 411 series , the Datsun 510 and the Datsun 240Z . By 1970 Nissan had become one of the world's largest exporters of automobiles. In 1970 Teocar
1534-682: 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. In February 2017, Ghosn announced he would step down as CEO of Nissan on 1 April 2017, while remaining chairman of
1652-405: A figure in the region of US$ 500 million. Operational costs included the changing of signs at 1,100 Datsun dealerships, and amounted to US$ 30 million. Another US$ 200 million were spent during the 1982 to 1986 advertising campaigns, where the "Datsun, We Are Driven!" campaign (which was adopted in late 1977 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis and subsequent 1979 energy crisis ) yielded to "The Name
1770-577: A legal agreement with Austin, for Nissan to assemble 2,000 Austins from imported partially assembled sets and sell them in Japan under the Austin trademark. The agreement called for Nissan to make all Austin parts locally within three years, a goal Nissan met. Nissan produced and marketed Austins for seven years. The agreement also gave Nissan the rights to use Austin patents, which Nissan used in developing its own engines for its Datsun line of cars. In 1953, British-built Austins were assembled and sold, but by 1955,
1888-523: A long-held 'official' company bias against use of the name "Datsun". At the time, Kawamata was a veteran of Nissan, in the last year of his presidency, a powerful figure whose experience in the firm exceeded two decades. His rise to its leadership position occurred in 1957 in part because of his handling of the critical Nissan workers' strike that began May 25, 1953, and ran for 100 days. During his tenure as president, Kawamata stated that he "regretted that his company did not imprint its corporate name on cars,
2006-399: A minor issue when deciding how to structure a business in Japan. As all publicly traded companies follow the K.K. structure, smaller businesses often choose to incorporate as a K.K. simply to appear more prestigious. In addition to income taxes, K.K.s must also pay registration taxes to the national government and may be subject to local taxes. Generally, the power to bring actions against
2124-542: A minority 15% and, in doing so, making Nissan shares in Renault to gain voting rights. The shareholding and voting ratio of both companies is set to be fixed in the future. The agreement also included Nissan investing in Ampere (a proposed Renault subsidiary for electric cars) and projects in various markets. In February 2023, both companies approved the going-ahead for the shareholding changes. Final details and regulatory clearances for
2242-688: A month. For 1966, Datsun debuted the Sunny/1000 , allowing kei car owners to move up to something bigger. That same year, Datsun won the East African Safari Rally and merged with Prince Motors , giving the company the Skyline model range, as well as a test track at Murayama. The company introduced the Bluebird 510 in 1967. This was followed in 1968 with the iconic 240Z , which proved affordable sports cars could be built and sold profitably: it
2360-509: A price of less than ¥50,000 per share (effective 1982-2003 ), or operate with paid-in capital of less than ¥10 million (effective 1991–2005). On June 29, 2005, the Diet of Japan passed a new Companies Act ( 会社法 , kaisha-hō ) , which took effect on May 1, 2006. A kabushiki gaisha may be started with capital as low as ¥1, making the total cost of a K.K. incorporation approximately ¥240,000 (about US$ 2,500) in taxes and notarization fees. Under
2478-449: A style called 後株 , ato-kabu ). Many Japanese companies translate the phrase " 株式会社 " in their name as " Company, Limited "—this is very often abbreviated as " Co., Ltd. "—but others use the more Americanized translations "Corporation" or "Incorporated". Texts in England often refer to kabushiki kaisha as " joint stock companies ". While that is close to a literal translation of the term,
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#17330929540482596-584: A successful name when exporting models to the United States. Only in the 1960s did Datsun begin to brand some automobile models as Nissans , like the Patrol and a small test batch of about 100 Cedric luxury sedans, and then not again until the 1980s. The Japanese market Z-car (sold as the Fairlady Z) also had Nissan badging. In the United States, the Nissan branch was named " Nissan Motor Corporation in U.S.A. ", and chartered on September 28, 1960, in California, but
2714-653: A total of 27 48th Ginza Nissan Miss Fairlady pageants. In the 1950s Nissan decided to expand into worldwide markets. Nissan management realized, that their Datsun small car line would fulfill an unmet need in markets such as Australia and the world's largest car market, the United States. Nissan first showcased the Datsun Bluebird at the 1958 Los Angeles Auto Show . Nissan had entered the Middle East market in 1957 when it sold its first car in Saudi Arabia. The company formed
2832-430: A video of Ghosn alleging this 2018-19 Nissan scandal is itself evidence of value destruction and Nissan corporate mismanagement. In September 2019, Saikawa resigned as CEO, following allegations of improper payments received by him. Yasuhiro Yamauchi was appointed as acting CEO. In October 2019, the company announced it had appointed Makoto Uchida as its next CEO. The appointment would be made "effective" by 1 January 2020 at
2950-407: Is Nissan" campaign (the latter campaign was used for some years beyond 1985). Another US$ 50 million was spent on Datsun advertisements that were paid for but stopped or never used. Five years after the name change program was over, Datsun still remained more familiar than Nissan . In 2001, Nissan marketed its D22 pick-up model in Japan with the name Datsun . This time however, the use of
3068-503: Is a type of company ( 会社 , kaisha ) defined under the Companies Act of Japan . The term is often translated as "stock company", " joint-stock company " or "stock corporation". The term kabushiki gaisha in Japan refers to any joint-stock company regardless of country of origin or incorporation; however, outside Japan the term refers specifically to joint-stock companies incorporated in Japan. In Latin script, kabushiki kaisha , with
3186-593: Is also combined into one Unicode character at code point U+337F ㍿ SQUARE CORPORATION , while the parenthesized form can also be represented with a single character, U+3231 ㈱ PARENTHESIZED IDEOGRAPH STOCK as well as parentheses around U+682A 株 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-682A and its romanization U+33CD ㏍ SQUARE KK . These forms, however, only exist for backward compatibility with older Japanese character encodings and Unicode and should be avoided when possible in new text. The first kabushiki gaisha
3304-629: Is referred to as a company with a board of statutory auditors ( 監査役会設置会社 , kansayaku-kai setchi-gaisha ) . Close K.K.s may also have a single person serving as director and statutory auditor, regardless of capital or liabilities. A statutory auditor may be any person who is not an employee or director of the company. In practice, the position is often filled by a very senior employee close to retirement, or by an outside attorney or accountant. Japanese law does not designate any corporate officer positions. Most Japanese-owned kabushiki gaisha do not have "officers" per se , but are directly managed by
3422-610: The 110 saloon and the 110-based 120 pickup . The use of the Datsun name in the American market derives from the name Nissan used for its production cars. In fact, the cars produced by Nissan already used the Datsun brand name, a successful brand in Japan since 1932, long before World War II . Before the entry into the American market in 1958, Nissan did not produce cars under the Nissan brand name, but only trucks. Their in-house-designed cars were always branded as Datsuns . Hence, for Nissan executives it would be only natural to use such
3540-653: The Austin A50 – completely built by Nissan and featuring a new 1489 cc engine — was on the market in Japan. Nissan produced 20,855 Austins from 1953 to 1959. Nissan leveraged the Austin patents to further develop its own modern engine designs beyond what Austin's A- and B-family designs offered. The apex of the Austin-derived engines was the new design A series engine in 1966. In 1967, Nissan introduced its new highly advanced four-cylinder overhead cam (OHC) Nissan L engine , which while similar to Mercedes-Benz OHC designs
3658-986: 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 . A variant of the Nissan Patrol was sold as the Ford Maverick during the 1988–94 model years. In North America, Nissan partnered with Ford from 1993 to 2002 to market the Ohio-built Mercury Villager and the Nissan Quest . The two minivans were virtually identical aside from cosmetic differences. In 2002, Nissan and Ford announced
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3776-504: The DAT . The new car's model name was an acronym of the company's investors' surnames : It was renamed to Kaishinsha 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
3894-726: The DB and DS series , they depended on designs based on the pre-war Austin Seven. The heavier trucks, meanwhile, were based on Chevrolet's 1937 design with an engine of Graham-Paige design. Nissan also built the 4W60 Patrol , based on the Willys Jeep, and the 4W70 Carrier, based on the Dodge M37 . Not until January 1955 did Datsun offer a fully indigenous design. That year, the Occupation returned production facilities to Japanese control, and Datsun introduced
4012-527: The Skyline and Gloria , into its selection. The Prince name was eventually abandoned, and successive Skylines and Glorias bore the Nissan name. "Prince" was used at the Japanese Nissan dealership " Nissan Prince Shop " until 1999, when "Nissan Red Stage" replaced it. Nissan Red Stage itself has been replaced as of 2007. The Skyline lives on as the G Series of Infiniti . To capitalize on the renewed investment during 1964 Summer Olympics , Nissan established
4130-527: The Toyota Land Cruiser J40 series), making it the only Nissan-badged product sold in the US prior to that name's introduction worldwide decades later. From 1960 on, exports and production continued to grow. A new plant was built at Oppama , south of Yokohama ; it opened in 1962. The next year, Bluebird sales first topped 200,000, and exports touched 100,000. By 1964, Bluebird was being built at 10,000 cars
4248-541: The holding company Nihon Sangyo (日本産業 Japan Industries or Nihon Industries). The name 'Nissan' originated during the 1930s as an abbreviation used on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for Ni hon San gyo. This company was Nissan " Zaibatsu " which included Tobata Casting and Hitachi . At this time Nissan controlled foundries and auto parts businesses, but Aikawa did not enter automobile manufacturing until 1933. The zaibatsu eventually grew to include 74 firms and became
4366-534: The 2015 model year Chevrolet City Express, to be introduced by the end of 2014. Holden , GM's Australian subsidiary, sold versions of the Nissan Pulsar as the Holden Astra between 1984 and 1989. Kabushiki gaisha A kabushiki gaisha ( Japanese : 株式会社 , pronounced [kabɯɕi̥ki ɡaꜜiɕa] ; lit. ' share company ' ) or kabushiki kaisha , commonly abbreviated K.K. or KK ,
4484-423: The DAT name since 1914. In 1930, the Japanese government created a ministerial ordinance that allowed cars with engines up to 500 cc to be driven without a license. DAT Automobile Manufacturing began development of a line of 495 cc cars to sell in this new market segment, calling the new small cars "Datson" – meaning "Son of DAT". The name was changed to "Datsun" two years later in 1933. The first prototype Datson
4602-664: The DAT passenger cars. In fact, their output focused on trucks since there was almost no consumer market for passenger cars at the time. Beginning in 1918, the first DAT trucks were assembled for the military market. The low demand from the military market during the 1920s forced DAT to consider merging with other automotive industries. 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 ) also known as Jitsuyo Motors (established 1919, as
4720-565: The Illinois Business Corporation Act of 1933, giving kabushiki gaisha many traits of American corporations , and to be more exact, Illinois corporations. Over time, Japanese and U.S. corporate law diverged, and K.K. assumed many characteristics not found in U.S. corporations. For instance, a K.K. could not repurchase its own stock (a restriction lifted by the amendment of the Commercial Code in 2001), issue stock for
4838-590: The Indian market as well as a base for exports of small cars to Europe. Nissan sold nearly 520,000 new vehicles in China in 2009 in a joint venture with Dongfeng Motor . To meet increased production targets, Dongfeng-Nissan expanded its production base in Guangzhou , which would become Nissan's largest factory around the globe in terms of production capacity. Nissan also has moved and expanded its Nissan Americas Inc. headquarters, moving from Los Angeles to Franklin, Tennessee in
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4956-469: The Legal Affairs Bureau in the jurisdiction where the company will have its head office. In a direct incorporation, each incorporator receives a specified amount of stock as designated in the articles of incorporation. Each incorporator must then promptly pay its share of the starting capital of the company, and if no directors have been designated in the articles of incorporation, meet to determine
5074-462: The Ministry of Finance. Under the new Company Law, public and other non-close K.K.s may either have a statutory auditor, or a nominating committee ( 指名委員会 , shimei-iin-kai ) , auditing committee ( 監査委員会 , kansa-iin-kai ) and compensation committee ( 報酬委員会 , hōshū-iin kai ) structure similar to that of American public corporations. If the company has an auditing committee, it
5192-451: The Nashville area. Project 901 was an initiative in the mid-1980s, and it represented a desire for Nissan to offer technologically advanced cars by 1990. Known by various names such as P901 Activity, 901 Activity, 901 Plan, 901 Operation, and Project 901, the project began under the leadership of Nissan President Yutaka Kume (1985-1992). Project 901 was initiated in early 1985 in response to
5310-662: The Nissan Mistral. Nissan licensed the Volkswagen Santana . Production began in 1984, at Nissan's Zama, Kanagawa plant, and ended in May 1990. 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
5428-693: The Nissan name was used for some new vehicles for 1982 such as the Nissan Stanza and the Nissan Sentra while the Datsun name was used on existing vehicles through 1983 including – confusingly enough – the Datsun Maxima , which like the Stanza and Sentra was also a new model for 1982, albeit as a renamed Datsun 810 . The Maxima and Z continue in production in North America as of 2021, as Nissan's last direct link to its Datsun years. The name change had cost Nissan
5546-481: The Second World War would be in prime car-buying age by 1960, if only to find an economical small second car for their growing family needs. Yutaka Katayama (Mr. "K"), former president of Nissan's American operations, would have had his personal wartime experiences in mind supporting the name Datsun. Katayama's visit to Nissan's Manchuria truck factory in 1939 made him realise the appalling conditions prevalent on
5664-710: The US in the early-1980s. Nissan's initial assembly plant Smyrna assembly plant broke ground in 1980 and at first only built trucks such as the Datsun 720 and the Nissan Hardbody Truck , but has since expanded to produce several car and SUV lines, including the Nissan Altima , the Nissan Maxima , as well as the Rogue, Pathfinder, Infiniti QX60, and the Nissan Leaf all-electric car . The addition of mass-market automobiles
5782-563: The Zama plant began to be robotized; this automation process then continued throughout Nissan's factories. Nissan electric vehicles have been produced intermittently since 1946. In 2010, the Nissan Leaf plug-in battery electric vehicle was introduced; it was the world's most sold plug-in electric car for nearly a decade. It was preceded by the Altra and the Hypermini . Until surpassed by Tesla, Nissan
5900-582: The amount of damages being claimed, shareholders rarely had the motivation to sue on the company's behalf. In 1993, the Commercial Code was amended to reduce the filing fee for all shareholder derivative suits to ¥8,200 per claim. This led to a rise in the number of derivative suits heard by Japanese courts, from 31 pending cases in 1992 to 286 in 1999, and to a number of very high-profile shareholder actions, such as those against Daiwa Bank and Nomura Securities Datsun Datsun ( UK : / ˈ d æ t s ən / , US : / ˈ d ɑː t s ən / )
6018-583: The assembly line, on April 11, 1935. By 1939 Nissan's operations had moved to Manchuria , then under Japanese occupation, where its founder and President, Yoshisuke Ayukawa , established the Manchurian Motor Company to manufacture military trucks. Ayukawa, a well-connected and aggressive risk taker, also made himself a principal partner of the Japanese Colonial Government of Manchukuo . Ultimately, Nissan Heavy Industries emerged near
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#17330929540486136-475: The assembly lines, leading him to abandon the firm. In 1945, near the end of the war, Katayama was ordered to return to the Manchurian plant, however he rebuffed these calls and refused to return. Katayama desired to build and sell passenger cars to people, not to the military; for him, the name " Datsun " had survived the war with its purity intact, not " Nissan ". This obviously led Katayama to have problems with
6254-509: The beginnings of the 20th century, with the Nissan zaibatsu , now called Nissan Group . Since 1999, Nissan has been part of the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance (Mitsubishi joining in 2016), a partnership between Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors of Japan, with Renault of France. As of November 2023, Renault holds a 15% voting stake in Nissan, while Nissan holds the same stake in Renault. Since October 2016 Nissan holds
6372-458: The biggest customers of domestic automakers. In late-July 2019, Nissan announced it would lay off 12,500 employees over the next 3 years, citing a 95% year on year net income fall. Hiroto Saikawa, CEO at the time, confirmed the majority of those cuts would be plant workers. In May 2020, Nissan announced that the company would cut production capacity by 20% due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In mid-2020,
6490-466: The brand name was wholly restricted to this one specific model name. Production of this model was between May 2001 and October 2002. On 20 March 2012, it was announced that Nissan would revive the Datsun marque as a low-cost car brand for use in Indonesia, Nepal, South Africa, India, and Russia, and on 15 July 2013, nearly three decades after it was phased out, the name was formally resurrected. Nissan said
6608-555: The brand's reputation for value and reliability would help it gain market share in emerging markets. The Datsun brand was relaunched in New Delhi , India, with the Datsun Go , which went on sale in India in early 2014. Datsun models are sold in Indonesia, Russia, India, Nepal and South Africa since 2014. The brand entered Kazakhstan in 2015, and Belarus and Lebanon in 2016. The Datsun Go
6726-414: The car and cooperation were discontinued. In Europe, General Motors (GM) and Nissan co-operated on the Nissan Primastar , a light commercial vehicle. The high roof version is built in the NMISA plant in Barcelona , Spain; while the low roof version is built at Vauxhall Motors / Opel 's Luton plant in Bedfordshire , UK. In 2013, GM announced its intentions to rebadge the Nissan NV200 commercial van as
6844-446: The cars were sold as Datsuns. "What we need to do is improve our car's efficiency gradually and creep up slowly before others notice. Then, before Detroit realizes it, we will have become an excellent car maker, and the customers will think so too. If we work hard to sell our own cars, we won't be bothered by whatever the other manufacturers do. If all we do is worry about the other cars in the race, we will definitely lose." In 1935,
6962-553: The company announced it would shut down factories in Indonesia and Spain, and would exit the South Korean car market. Nissan announced that the Infiniti brand will be pulled out from South Korea as well alongside the Nissan brand by December due to worsening business environment amidst the pandemic and the 2019 boycott of Japanese products in South Korea . Nissan announced that service centers will be managed to provide after-sales services such as vehicle quality assurance and parts management for eight years. In November 2020, Nissan announced
7080-431: The company contributed to the war effort. In 1926, the Tokyo-based DAT Motors merged with the Osaka -based Jitsuyo Jidosha Co., Ltd ( 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,
7198-458: The company had established a true production line, following the example of Ford , and were producing a car closely resembling the Austin 7 . There is evidence that six of these early Datsuns were exported to New Zealand in 1936, a market they then re-entered in May 1962. In 1937, Datsun's biggest pre-war year, 8593 were built, with some exported to Australia in knock-down form. After Japan went to war with China in 1937, passenger car production
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#17330929540487316-427: The company produced light cars and trucks under the name of Lila. In 1929, DAT Automobile Manufacturing Inc. merged with a separated part of the manufacturing business of IHI Corporation to become Automobile Industries Co., Ltd. In 1931, DAT came out with a new smaller car, called the Datsun Type 11 , the first "Datson", meaning "Son of DAT". Later in 1933, after Nissan Group zaibatsu took control of DAT Motors,
7434-451: The company took a hard line. Workers were locked out, and several hundred were fired. The Japanese government and the U.S. occupation forces arrested several union leaders. The union ran out of strike funds and was defeated. A new labor union was formed, with Shioji Ichiro one of its leaders. Ichiro had studied at Harvard University on a U.S. government scholarship. He advanced an idea to trade wage cuts against saving 2,000 jobs. Ichiro's idea
7552-428: The company. He was replaced as CEO by his then-deputy Hiroto Saikawa . On 19 November 2018, Ghosn was fired as chairman following his arrest for the alleged under-reporting of his income to Japanese financial authorities. After 108 days in detention, Ghosn was released on bail, but after 29 days he was again detained on new charges (4 April 2019). He had been due to hold a news conference, but instead, his lawyers released
7670-402: The corporate management. The discouragement felt by Katayama as regards his prospects at Nissan, led to his going on the verge of resigning, when Datsun's 1958 Australian Mobilgas victories vaulted him, as leader of the winning Datsun teams, to national prominence in a Japan bent on regaining international status . The company's first product to be exported around the world was the 113 , with
7788-425: The decision-making power of the directors is relatively limited. As soon as a third director is designated such companies must form a board. At least one director is designated as a Representative Director ( 代表取締役 , daihyō-torishimariyaku ) , holds the corporate seal and is empowered to represent the company in transactions. The Representative Director must "report" to the board of directors every three months;
7906-415: The directors on the corporation's behalf is granted to the statutory auditor. Historically, derivative suits by shareholders were rare in Japan. Shareholders have been permitted to sue on the corporation's behalf since the postwar Americanization of the Commercial Code; however, this power was severely limited by the nature of court costs in Japan. Because the cost to file a civil action is proportional to
8024-618: The directors, one of whom generally has the title of president ( 社長 , sha-chō ) . The Japanese equivalent of a corporate vice president is a department chief ( 部長 , bu-chō ) . Traditionally, under the lifetime employment system, directors and department chiefs begin their careers as line employees of the company and work their way up the management hierarchy over time. This is not the case in most foreign-owned companies in Japan, and some native companies have also abandoned this system in recent years in favor of encouraging more lateral movement in management. Corporate officers often have
8142-422: The discontinuation of the arrangement. In Europe, Nissan and Ford Europe partnered to produce the Nissan Terrano II and the badge-engineered Ford Maverick, a mid-size SUV produced at the Nissan Motor Ibérica S.A (NMISA) plant in Barcelona , Spain . The Maverick/Terrano II was a popular vehicle sold throughout Europe and Australasia. It was also sold in Japan as a captive import , with the Nissan model marketed as
8260-616: The end of the war as an important player in Japan's war machinery. After the war ended, Soviet Union seized all of Nissan's Manchuria assets, while the Occupation Forces made use of over half of the Yokohama plant. General MacArthur had Ayukawa imprisoned for 21 months as a war criminal . After release he was forbidden from returning to any corporate or public office until 1951. He was never allowed back into Nissan, which returned to passenger car manufacture in 1947 and to its original name of Nissan Motor Company Ltd. in 1949. American service personnel in their teens or early twenties during
8378-489: The era. Miss Fairladys became the marketers of the Datsun Fairlady 1500 . In April 2008, 14 more Miss Fairlady candidates were added, for a total of 45 Nissan Miss Fairlady pageants (22 in Ginza, 8 in Sapporo, 7 in Nagoya, 7 in Fukuoka). In April 2012, 7 more Miss Fairlady candidates were added, for a total of 48 Nissan Miss Fairlady pageants (26 in Ginza, 8 in Sapporo, 7 in Nagoya, 7 in Fukuoka). In April 2013, 6 more Miss Fairlady candidates were added to Ginza showroom, for
8496-417: The exact meaning of this statutory provision is unclear, but some legal scholars interpret it to mean that the board must meet every three months. In 2015, the requirement that at least one director and one Representative Director must be a resident of Japan was changed. It is not required to have a resident Representative Director although it can be convenient to do so. Directors are mandatories ( agents ) of
8614-507: The first Datsun-badged vehicle was shipped to Britain by car magnate Sir Herbert Austin. The vehicle, a Type 14, was never meant for the road or production, but was a part of a patent dispute as Austin saw a number of similarities to the car with the Austin 7 Ruby. Nissan began exporting Datsun-badged cars to the United Kingdom in 1968, at which time foreign cars were a rarity, with only a small percentage of cars being imported – some of
8732-621: 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 Imperial Japanese Army . In November 1937 Nissan moved its headquarters to Xinjing , the capital of Manchukuo . In December the company changed its name to Manchuria Heavy Industries Developing Co (MHID). In 1940, the first knockdown kits were shipped to Dowa Jidosha Kogyo (Dowa Automobile) , one of MHID's companies, for assembly. In 1944,
8850-528: The following year and continued to climb over the next few years, with well-priced products including the Cherry 100A and Sunny 120Y proving particularly popular, at a time when the British motor industry was plagued by strikes and British Leyland in particular was gaining a reputation for building cars which had major issues with build quality and reliability. During the 1970s and early 1980s, Nissan frequently enjoyed
8968-482: The fourth-largest in Japan during World War II . In 1931, DAT Jidosha Seizo became affiliated with Tobata Casting and was merged into Tobata Casting in 1933. As Tobata Casting was a Nissan company, this was the beginning of Nissan's automobile manufacturing. 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
9086-530: The gallery on the second and third floors of the San-ai building, located in Ginza, Tokyo . To attract visitors, Nissan started using beautiful female showroom attendants where Nissan held a competition to choose five candidates as the first class of Nissan Miss Fairladys, modeled after "Datsun Demonstrators" from the 1930s who introduced cars. The Fairlady name was used as a link to the popular Broadway play My Fair Lady of
9204-620: The growing demand for new, technically advanced cars from all Japanese manufacturers. With a market share of around 25% then, Nissan saw a decline to less than 20%, prompting the company to address its shortcomings. Under the banner of 'Aiming to be the world's best in technology by the 1990s,' the plan focused on the technological development of chassis, engines, suspensions, handling, design, and quality improvements for all car models to be introduced before 1990. In 1999, facing severe financial difficulties, Nissan entered an alliance with Renault of France. In June 2001, Renault executive Carlos Ghosn
9322-464: The growing demand the new Nissan Sunny , the company built new factories in Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, United States, and South Africa. The " Chicken Tax " of 1964 placed a 25 percent tax on commercial vans imported to the United States. Nissan Motor Manufacturing Corporation USA was established in 1980. Nissan, Toyota Motor Corp. , and Honda Motor Co. began establishing manufacturing plants in
9440-434: 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. DAT had inherited Kubota 's chief designer, American engineer William R. Gorham . This, along with Aikawa's 1908 visit to Detroit, was to greatly affect Nissan's future. Although it had always been Aikawa's intention to use cutting-edge auto making technology from America, it
9558-404: The incorporator, and then make payment for his or her shares by a date specified by the incorporator(s). Capital must be received in a commercial bank account designated by the incorporator(s), and the bank must provide certification that payment has been made. Once the capital has been received and certified, the incorporation may be registered at the Legal Affairs Bureau. Under present law,
9676-470: The initial directors and other officers. The other method is an "incorporation by offering," in which each incorporator becomes the stock underwriter of a specified number of shares (at least one each), and the other shares are offered to other investors. As in a direct incorporation, the incorporators must then hold an organizational meeting to appoint the initial directors and other officers. Any person wishing to receive shares must submit an application to
9794-587: The largest market share in Britain of any foreign carmaker. By the early 1980s, the Nissan badge was gradually appearing on Datsun-badged cars, and eventually the Datsun branding was phased out, the final new car with a Datsun badge being the Micra supermini, launched in Britain from June 1983. By the end of 1984, the Datsun branding had completely disappeared in Britain, although it lingered elsewhere until 1986. In Japan, there appears to have been what probably constituted
9912-405: The last syllable of Datson was changed to "sun", because "son" also means "loss" in Japanese, hence the name " Datsun " ( ダットサン , Dattosan ) . In 1933, the company name was Nipponized to Jidosha-Seizo Co., Ltd. ( Jidōsha Seizō Kabushiki-Gaisha , "Automobile Manufacturing Share Company") and was moved to Yokohama . In 1928, Yoshisuke Aikawa (nickname: Gisuke/Guisuke Ayukawa) founded
10030-410: The late 1970s onward until the Nissan name was given prominence in 1983 – although in some export markets, vehicles continued to wear both the Datsun and Nissan badges until 1986. In the United Kingdom for example, the Nissan name initially was used as a prefix to the model name, with Datsun still being used as the manufacturer's name (e.g. Datsun-Nissan Micra ) from 1982 until 1984. In the United States,
10148-472: The latest. On 1 December 2019, Uchida became CEO. In the United States, Nissan has been increasing its reliance on sales to daily-rental companies like Enterprise Rent-A-Car or Hertz . In 2016, Nissan's rental sales jumped 37% and in 2017 Nissan became the only major automaker to boost rental sales when the Detroit Three cut back less profitable deliveries to daily-rental companies, which traditionally are
10266-437: The legal title of shihainin , which makes them authorized representatives of the corporation at a particular place of business, in addition to a common-use title. Kabushiki gaisha are subject to double taxation of profits and dividends, as are corporations in most countries. In contrast to many other countries, however, Japan also levies double taxes on close corporations ( yugen gaisha and gōdō gaisha ). This makes taxation
10384-498: The most important motivation was that a name change would help Nissan market stocks and bonds in the U.S. They also presumed substantial ego involvement, since the absence of the Nissan name in the U.S. surely rankled Nissan executives who had seen Toyota and Honda become household words." Ultimately, the name change campaign lasted for a three-year period from 1982 to 1984 – Datsun badged vehicles had been progressively fitted with small "Nissan" and "Datsun by Nissan" badges from
10502-485: The most popular examples at the time including the Renault 16 from France and Volkswagen Beetle from West Germany . The first European market that Nissan had entered was Finland, where sales began in 1962. Within a few years, it was importing cars to most of Western Europe . Datsun was particularly successful on the British market. It sold just over 6,000 cars there as late as 1971, but its sales surged to more than 30,000
10620-634: The name Datsun : Dattosan ( ダットサン , Dattosan ) . The Datsun name is internationally well known for the 510 , Fairlady roadsters, and the Z and ZX coupés . Before the Datsun brand name came into being, an automobile named the DAT car was built in 1914, by the Kaishinsha Motorcar Works ( 快進自動車工場 , Kaishin Jidōsha Kōjō ) , in the Azabu-Hiroo District in Tokyo. The new car's name
10738-525: 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, the construction of its Yokohama plant was completed. 44 Datsuns were shipped to Asia, Central and South America. In 1935,
10856-422: The old Commercial Code, a K.K. required starting capital of ¥10 million (about US$ 105,000); a lower capital requirement was later instituted, but corporations with under ¥3 million in assets were barred from issuing dividends , and companies were required to increase their capital to ¥10 million within five years of formation. The main steps in incorporation are the following: The incorporation of
10974-722: The shareholders, and the Representative Director is a mandatory of the board. Any action outside of these mandates is considered a breach of mandatory duty. Every K.K. with multiple directors must have at least one statutory auditor ( 監査役 , kansayaku ) . Statutory auditors report to the shareholders, and are empowered to demand financial and operational reports from the directors. K.K.s with capital of over ¥500m, liabilities of over ¥2bn and/or publicly traded securities are required to have three statutory auditors, and must also have an annual audit performed by an outside CPA . Public K.K.s must also file securities law reports with
11092-428: The small cars the firm exported to America were still named Datsun. Corporate choice favored Datsun, so as to distance the parent factory Nissan's association by Americans with Japanese military manufacture. In fact Nissan's involvement in Japan's military industries was substantial. The company's car production at the Yokohama plant shifted towards military needs just a few years after the first passenger cars rolled off
11210-527: The struggling brand in April 2022. In 1931, DAT Motorcar Co. chose to name its new small car "Datson", a name which indicated the new car's smaller size when compared to the DAT's larger vehicle already in production. When Nissan took control of DAT in 1934, the name "Datson" was changed to "Datsun", because "son" also means "loss" ( 損 son ) in Japanese , and to honour the sun depicted in the national flag – thus
11328-484: The time, and disaster recovery efforts as a result of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake . Beginning in 1918, the first DAT trucks were produced for the military market. At the same time, Jitsuyo Jidosha Co., Ltd. (jitsuyo means practical use or utility) produced small trucks using parts, and materials imported from the United States. Commercial operations were placed on hold during Japan's participation in World War I , and
11446-495: The transaction were set to be completed by the first quarter of 2023 and it would be done by the fourth quarter. The companies also approved joint projects and Nissan's Ampere investment. The share transfer was completed in November 2023. In November 2024, Nissan announced an emergency turnaround plan which saw it cut its annual operating profit forecast by 70% to 150 billion yen ($ 975 million), marking its second downward revision after
11564-401: The two are not precisely the same. The Japanese government once endorsed "business corporation" as an official translation but now uses the more literal translation "stock company." Japanese often abbreviate " 株式会社 " in a company name on signage (including the sides of their vehicles) to 株 in parentheses , as, for example, " ABC㈱ ." The full, formal name would then be " ABC株式会社 ". 株式会社
11682-445: The way Toyota does. 'Looking back, we wish we had started using Nissan on all of our cars,' he says. 'But Datsun was a pet name for the cars when we started exporting .'" Ultimately, the decision was made to stop using the brand name Datsun worldwide, in order to strengthen the company name Nissan . "The decision to change the name Datsun to Nissan in the U.S. was announced in the autumn (September/October) of 1981. The rationale
11800-534: Was Gorham that carried out the plan. Most of the machinery and processes originally came from the United States. When Nissan started to assemble larger vehicles under the "Nissan" brand in 1937, much of the design plans and plant facilities were supplied by the Graham-Paige Company. Nissan also had a Graham license under which passenger cars, buses, and trucks were made. In his 1986 book The Reckoning , David Halberstam states "In terms of technology, Gorham
11918-501: Was a Japanese automobile manufacturer brand owned by Nissan . Datsun's original production run began in 1931. From 1958 to 1986, only vehicles exported by Nissan were identified as Datsun. Nissan phased out the Datsun brand in March 1986, but relaunched it in June 2013 as the brand for low-cost vehicles manufactured for emerging markets . Nissan considered phasing out the Datsun brand for a second time in 2019 and 2020, eventually discontinuing
12036-412: 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 1969, Nissan introduced the Datsun 240Z sports car which used a six-cylinder variation of the L series engine, developed under Nissan Machinery (Nissan Koki Co., Ltd. 日産工機 ) in 1964, a former remnant of another auto manufacturer Kurogane . The 240Z
12154-652: Was also entered in 1980, leading to Italian production of the Nissan Cherry and an Alfa-badged and motorized version, the Alfa Romeo Arna . In 2001 Nissan established a manufacturing plant in Brazil. In 2005 Nissan added operations in India, through its subsidiary Nissan Motor India Private Limited . With its global alliance partner Renault , Nissan invested $ 990 million to set up a manufacturing facility in Chennai , catering to
12272-413: Was an acronym of the initials of the company partners: Incidentally, datto (how a native Japanese speaker would pronounce "dat") means to "dash off like a startled rabbit" (脱兎), which was considered a good name for the little car. The firm was renamed Kaishinsha Motorcar Co. in 1918, seven years after their establishment and again, in 1925, to DAT Motorcar Co. DAT Motors constructed trucks in addition to
12390-512: Was an immediate sensation and lifted Nissan to world-class status in the automobile market. During the Korean War , Nissan was a major vehicle producer for the U.S. Army. After the Korean War ended, significant levels of anti-communist sentiment existed in Japan. The union that organized Nissan's workforce was strong and militant. Nissan was in financial difficulties, and when wage negotiations came,
12508-572: Was being built at the Renault-Nissan plant in Chennai , India. It was also produced in Indonesia. The Go is based on the same Nissan V platform as the Nissan Micra . The Go+, a 5+2 seater station wagon , was added to the range in September 2013. In February 2014, the redi-Go concept car was presented. The redi-Go crossover became available in India mid-2015. In April 2014, the first model for
12626-584: Was completed in the summer of 1931. The production vehicle was called the Datson Type 10, and "approximately ten" of these cars were sold in 1931. They sold around 150 cars in 1932, now calling the model the Datsun Type 11 . In 1933, government rules were revised to permit 750 cc (46 cu in) engines, and Datsun increased the displacement of their microcar engine to the maximum allowed. These larger displacement cars were called Type 12s . By 1935,
12744-482: Was established, which was a Greek assembly plant created in cooperation with Theoharakis. Nissan Mexicana was established in the early-1960s and commenced manufacturing in 1966 at the Cuernavaca assembly facility , making it Nissan's first North American assembly plant. In the wake of the 1973 oil crisis , consumers worldwide, especially in the lucrative US market, began turning to high-quality small economy cars. To meet
12862-617: Was in response to the 1981 Voluntary Export Restraints imposed by the US Government. An engine plant in Decherd, Tennessee followed. Most recently a second assembly plant was established in Canton, Mississippi . By the early-1980s, Nissan Datsun had long been the best selling Japanese brand in Europe. The Greek manufacturing plant itself was closed. A joint venture with Italy's then state-owned Alfa Romeo
12980-581: Was made part of a new union contract that prioritized productivity. Between 1955 and 1973, Nissan "expanded rapidly on the basis of technical advances supported – and often suggested – by the union." Ichiro became president of the Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions and "the most influential figure in the right wing of the Japanese labor movement." In 1966, Nissan merged with the Prince Motor Company , bringing more upmarket cars, including
13098-406: Was named chief executive officer of Nissan. In May 2005, Ghosn was named president of Nissan's partner company Renault. He was appointed president and CEO of Renault on 6 May 2009. 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
13216-555: Was restricted, so by 1938, Datsun's Yokohama plant concentrated on building trucks for the Imperial Japanese Army . When the Pacific War ended, Datsun would turn to provide trucks for the Occupation forces. This lasted until car production resumed in 1947. As before the war, Datsun closely patterned their cars on contemporary Austin products: postwar, the Devon and Somerset were selected. For Datsun's smaller cars (and trucks), such as
13334-632: Was soon the world's #1-selling sports car. It relied on an engine based on the Bluebird and used Bluebird suspension components. It would go on to two outright wins in the East African Rally. Katayama was made Vice President of the Nissan North American subsidiary in 1960, and as long as he was involved in decision making, both as North American Vice President from 1960 to 1965, and then President of Nissan Motor Company U.S.A. from 1965 to 1975,
13452-416: Was that the name change would help the pursuit of a global strategy . A single name worldwide would increase the possibility that advertising campaigns, brochures, and promotional materials could be used across countries and simplify product design and manufacturing. Further, potential buyers would be exposed to the name and product when traveling to other countries. Industry observers, however, speculated that
13570-604: Was the Dai-Ichi Bank , incorporated in 1873. Rules regarding kabushiki gaisha were set out in the Commercial Code of Japan , and was originally based on laws regulating German Aktiengesellschaft (which also means share company). However, during the United States-led Allied Occupation of Japan following World War II, the occupation authorities introduced revisions to the Commercial Code based on
13688-506: Was the founder of the Nissan Motor Company" and that "young Nissan engineers who had never met him spoke of him as a god and could describe in detail his years at the company and his many inventions." From 1934, Datsun began to build Austin 7s under license. This operation became the greatest success of Austin 's overseas licensing of its Seven and marked the beginning of Datsun's international success. In 1952, Nissan entered into
13806-399: Was the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, with global sales of more than 320,000 all-electric vehicles as of April 2018. In 2022, it was announced that Nissan was intending to create solid-state batteries for electric vehicles. In Australia, between 1989 and 1992, Nissan Australia shared models with Ford Australia under a government-backed rationalisation scheme known as
13924-506: Was the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, with global sales of more than 320,000 all-electric vehicles. Masujiro Hashimoto ( 橋本増治郎 ) founded the Kwaishinsha (Kaishinsha) Motor Car Works ( 快進社自働車工場 , Kwaishinsha jidōsha kōjō , A Good Company Automobile Manufacturer ) on 1 July 1911 in Azabu-Hiroo district of Tokyo. In 1914, the company produced its first car, called
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