Nissan

History

Nissan was founded on December 26, 1933, in Yokohama and developed into a leading global Japanese automaker. Following financial difficulties in the late 1990s, Nissan entered a transformative alliance with French carmaker Renault in 1999. The company is renowned for its legendary Datsun brand and pioneering spirit in the automotive industry.

EV strategy

Nissan moved early: the Leaf arrived in 2010 and was the world's best-selling electric car for years. The third generation has been delivered, on sale as a crossover on the CMF-EV platform since the autumn of 2025, from 29,990 dollars in the US and built in Tochigi, Japan, and Sunderland, England. The Renault-Nissan Alliance has put more than four billion euros into electric and battery development.

Good to know

• The Nissan Leaf was the world's best-selling electric car for years from 2011 until the Tesla Model 3 overtook it in early 2020; by 2023 Nissan had sold more than 650,000 of them.
• In the 2010s the Renault-Nissan Alliance counted as the world's largest seller of electric cars; today BYD and Tesla lead that ranking.
• Nissan was founded in 1933 from the merger of Kwaishinsha Motor Car Works (1911) with other companies.
• The first Datsun was produced in Yokohama in 1935 and immediately exported to Australia.