Nissan History: Nissan is the second largest automobile manufacturer after Toyota in Japan. Nissan was founded in 1914 at the Kwaishinsha Motorcar Works, which became the Kwaishinsha Motorcar Company in 1918 and then the DAT Motorcar Company in 1925. In 1926 DAT merged with the Osaka-based Jitsuyo Jidosha Company where the first Datsun was produced in 1931. The company was renamed the Nissan Motor Company in 1934.
Nissan built trucks, airplanes and engines for Japan during World War II and afterwards teamed up with Austin of England to build automobiles. The most famous Nissan was the 1970 Datsun 240Z which, along with the energy crisis at the time, boosted Nissan to world class status. In 1993 Nissan teamed up with Fordto make the Mercury Villager and Nissan Quest minivans. Nissan is also involved with the French car maker, Renault and Daimler AG. In 2002 Nissan teamed up with Toyota to develop hybrid technologies.
