By: Katie Scott, Business Reporter
Nissan has decided to end production of Datsun cars - signaling the end of the road for a brand that has existed since 1931. The brand was part of a wave of Japanese manufacturers who drove automobile innovation in the post World War II-era.
The earliest car manufactured by what became Datsun was the 1914 DAT, which was built by the Kaishinsha Motorcar Works in Tokyo. “The word DAT was an acronym of the family names of three early investors in the business: Den, Aoyama and Takeuchi. It also literally means 'lightning fast' in Japanese. At the same time, it was promoted as Durable, Attractive and Trustworthy, or DAT for short,” writes the BBC. The company was bought by Nissan's founder Yoshisuke Aikawa in 1933.
The announcement comes nine years after Nissan had revived the brand name to sell budget models to emerging markets. Nissan has signalled its commitment to existing customers telling Autocar: "We can reassure all existing and future Datsun owners that customer satisfaction remains our priority, and we will continue to provide the highest levels of after sales service, parts availability and warranty support.”
