Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

AutomotiveFounded 1933

Market Data Current As Of: September 12, 2026

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Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

AutomotiveFounded 1933

Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya

Last reviewed: September 12, 2026

Market Data Current As Of: September 12, 2026

Founders

Who Founded Nissan Motor?

· Founded 1933 · Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

Founding Story

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. is a global automotive powerhouse headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, producing over 3.4 million vehicles annually across passenger cars, commercial light trucks, and electric vehicles. Established in December 1933 by Yoshisuke Aikawa through the reorganization of the Nihon Sangyo holding conglomerate, Nissan pioneered Japanese automotive mass production with Datsun runabouts before developing world-renowned engineering icons including the Skyline GT-R, Fairlady Z sports cars, and the Patrol off-road SUV. In 2010, Nissan catalyzed the modern zero-emission passenger vehicle era with the launch of the Nissan Leaf, the world's first mass-market electric vehicle. As a central pillar of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance alongside Renault S.A. and Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan competes in more than 160 global markets with leading product lines in hybrid e-POWER propulsion, pure-battery EV architectures, and ProPILOT autonomous driving technologies.

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.: CEO & Leadership History

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Makoto Uchida

Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO

2019 – 2026

Restored Nissan to multi-billion-dollar operating profitability and established its solid-state battery roadmap.

Carlos Ghosn

Chief Operating Officer & CEO

1999 – 2017

Rescued Nissan from imminent bankruptcy and built the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi global alliance.

Katsuji Kawamata

President & Chairman

1957 – 1973

Transformed Nissan from a domestic Japanese producer into an international export juggernaut.

Yoshisuke Aikawa

Founder & First President

1933 – 1942

Founded Nissan Motor Co. and established Japan's modern automotive mass-production industry.

Compare Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. With Competitors

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. vs Toyota Motor Corporation →Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. vs Bayerische Motoren Werke AG →Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. vs Honda Motor Co., Ltd. →Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. vs Suzuki Motor Corporation →Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. vs Koenigsegg →

Who Founded Nissan Motor? FAQ

Who founded Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and in what year was it established?

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. was founded in 1933 by Yoshisuke Aikawa, William R. Gorham, Masujiro Hashimoto in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.

What was the original founding vision for Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.?

The founders established Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. with the objective of solving core inefficiencies in Automotive, Electric Vehicles, Commercial Utility & Hybrid Systems, laying the foundation for its current global scale.

How does Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. preserve its founding principles today?