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The Datsun brand of cars came out of the merger of two early Japan car companies, DAT Automobile Co. and Jitsuyo Automobile Co. This new company DAT Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd. eventually created the Datsun brand. Shortly after the first Datsun was produced in 1931, the fledgling Nippon Sangyo holding company, desiring to enter the automobile business, sets its eyes on the Datsun car. So in 1933 it takes over DAT. The next year Nippon Sangyo names the car company Nissan Motors. The rest is history.
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Kwaishinsha
1914: ??????? (Kwaishinsha Automobile Works) is established in Tokyo. Apparently it is the first automobile manufacturer registered with the Japanese government. The car they build is the DAT car.
1918: Renamed to Kwaishinsha Automobile Co.
1925: Renamed to DAT Automobile Co.
Jitsuyo
1919: Kubota (the tractor company) forms a subsidiary to manufacture cars, named it ????? (Jitsuyo Automobiles) in Osaka.
Their first product is small three-wheeled cars.
Eventually Jitsuyo branches into four-wheeled cars.
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- Jitsuyo Lila
Merger of DAT and Jitsuyo
1926: DAT and Jitsuyo merge, to form ???????????? (DAT Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd.). Headquarters are in Osaka.
1931: DAT comes out with a new smaller car, the first "Datson", meaning "Son of DAT".
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- First Datson
1932: Datson mark is renamed Datsun, a more harmonious spelling
1933: Company is renamed ????????? (Jidosha-Seizo Co., Ltd.)
Nippon Sangyo
1928: Yoshisuke Aikawa founds the holding company Nippon Sangyo (Japan/Nippon Industries). This fledging company soon begins buying or taking over other established companies.
Takeover of DAT
1931: Nippon Sangyo controls foundries and auto parts businesses, but no automobile manufacturing. Aikawa purchases controlling shares in DAT Motors.
1933: Aikwawa merges Tobata Casting's automobile parts department with DAT Automobile. As Tobata Casting is a Nippon Sangyo company, this is the beginning of Nippon Sangyo automobile manufacturing.
Nissan
1934: Aikawa "separated the expanded automobile parts division of Tobata Casting and incorporated it as a new subsidiary, which he named Nissan Motor (Nissan)". This is ????? (Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.).
1934 June: The shareholders of the new company however are not enthusiastic about the prospects of the automobile in Japan, so Aikawa buys out all the Tobata Casting shareholders (using capital from Nippon Industries). At this time Nissan Motors effectively becomes owned by Nippon Sangyo and Hitachi.
1940s: Nippon Sangyo, now popularly known as Nissan, becomes the famous Nissan "Zaibatsu" (combine) including Tobata Casting and Hitachi. It grows to include 74 firms, and to be the fourth-largest combine in Japan during the wartime years.
1947: For two years (1947 to 1948) the company was briefly called Nissan Heavy Industries Corp.
End of Datsun Brand
1981-1983: After becoming one of the world's great brand names, Datsun brand name is globably replaced with Nissan badging. This was to achieve greater recognition for the Company (Nissan) rather than the better-known Brand (Datsun).
1993-1995: Datsun name used as a model name in Japan for the D21 pickup, known as Navara or Harbody in other countries.
