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First half of the history of Nissan
History of Nissan

First half of the history of Nissan

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Only foreign cars from Ford and GM (General Motors) were seen on Japan's roads in the Meiji and Taisho eras. At that time, men like Yoshisuke Aikawa had zealously begun manufacturing vehicles. They are the ones who built the foundation of Japan's automobile industry of today.

1911 Establishment of The Kwaishinsha Motor Car Works
1910 Yoshisuke Aikawa establishes Tobata Casting Co., Ltd.

Masujiro Hashimoto led by establishing Kwaishinsha. The factory embarked on domestic automobile production, which became the forerunner of the domestic automobile industry.


Yoshisuke Aikawa was born in Yamaguchi prefecture. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University (present Tokyo University). When he lived in the United States, Yoshisuke concealed his academic accomplishments and worked in a factory, where he developed casting skill. He established Tobata Casting Co., Ltd., after his return to Japan.

1914 Completed manufacturing of the DAT car

The DAT car was named by combining the initials of three men who invested in Kwaishinsha: Den, Aoyama and Takeuchi. The DAT car was entered in the Taisho Exposition held in the same year.
1918 Starts anew under the name Kwaishinsha Motor Car Co., Ltd.
1919 Establishment of Jitsuyo Jidosha Seizo Co., Ltd.

The Kwaishinsha Motor Car Works grew in size to 600 thousand yen in capital, with 60 employees. They completed and released Model 41 DAT in the following year, mounting the first single body casting 4-cylinder engine in Japan.


William R. Gorham, an American engineer, developed a three-wheeled vehicle in 1919. This drew attention from a businessman in Osaka, who established Jitsuyo Jidosha Co., Ltd.. The mechanical equipment, auto parts, and materials were ordered and imported from the United States.

Jitsuyo Jidosha Co. was a modern automobile factory of the time.
1925 Establishment of DAT Jidosha & Co., Ltd.

Kwaishinsha established DAT Jidosha & Co., Ltd. for the purpose of strengthening sales.

1926 Establishment of DAT Jidosha Seizo Co., Ltd.

Jitsuyo Jidosha Seizo Co., Ltd. became DAT Jidosha Seizo Co., Ltd. and merged with DAT Jidosha Trading Company.

1931 DAT Jidosha Seizo Co., Ltd. becomes affiliated with Tobata Casting Co., Ltd.

Tobata Casting Co., Ltd., who was manufacturing the automobile parts, planned to advance to the automobile industry and received DAT Jidosha Seizo to be affiliated under them.

DAT SUN

1932 The birth of Datsun

In 1931, DAT Jidosha Seizo Co., Ltd. became a subsidiary of Tobata Casting Co., Ltd., and developed its first 495cc compact size passenger vehicle. In the following year, 1932, the company changed its name to Datsun: DAT was taken from the initial letters of three men. The SON was changed to SUN, since the SON sounded the same as a word meaning "disadvantage" in Japanese.
1933 Tobata Casting Co., Ltd. establishes Automobile Division

Tobata Casting Co., Ltd. set up an Automobile Division in March 1933 and began automobile production in earnest. In October of the same year, the company purchased more than 66,000m2, of reclaimed land in Shinkoyasu on the coast in Yokohama City (the site where the present Yokohama Plant is located).

1933 Established Jidosha Seizo Co., Ltd. in Yokohama

Yoshisuke Aikawa's two holding companies, Nihon Sangyo and Tobata Casting, which he also established, invested in and established Jidosha Seizo Co., Ltd. on December 26.
1934 Corporate name changes to Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. The corporate name was changed to Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. when Nihon Sangyo Co., Ltd. became the 100% investor at the general meeting of stockholders in June.

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