Nissan vs Volkswagen: Founders, CEOs and History

Nissan

Founded

1933

Headquarters

Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

Current CEO

Ivan Espinosa

Employees

120,079

Volkswagen

Founded

1937

Headquarters

Wolfsburg, Germany

Current CEO

Oliver Blume

Employees

663,000

Nissan

• Yoshisuke Aikawa

  Yoshisuke Aikawa founded the massive Nissan zaibatsu in the 1920s. Recognizing the absolute critical importance of the rapidly growing automotive industry, he consolidated several smaller motor companies (including DAT Motors) into Nissan Motor Co.

• William Gorham

  William Gorham was an American engineer who moved to Japan and played an absolutely vital role in the founding of Nissan.

• Masujiro Hashimoto

  Masujiro Hashimoto founded the Kwaishinsha Motor Car Works in 1911, which produced the 'DAT' car.

• Rokuro Aoyama

  Rokuro Aoyama was one of the three primary financial backers (alongside Den and Takeuchi) of Hashimoto's original company, providing the 'A' in the 'DAT' acronym.

Volkswagen

• Ferdinand Porsche

  Ferdinand Porsche (1875-1951) was an Austrian-born automotive engineer who had worked for Lohner, Austro-Daimler and Daimler-Benz before opening his own design office in Stuttgart in 1931.

Nissan

1. Katsuji Kawamata1957–1973

   President & Chairman

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

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2. Carlos Ghosn1999–2017

   Executive Officer & CEO

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

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3. Hiroto Saikawa2017–2019

   Chief Executive Officer

   Hiroto Saikawa served as chief executive of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. from 2017 to 2019.

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4. Makoto Uchida2019–2025

   Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO

   Returned Nissan to profit after the pandemic, but stepped down in March 2025 after results collapsed in FY2024 and merger talks with Honda failed.

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5. Ivan Espinosa2025–present

   President and Chief Executive Officer

   Mexican-born former chief planning officer who succeeded Makoto Uchida as CEO on April 1, 2025. Launched the Re:Nissan cost and restructuring plan and led Nissan back to a quarterly operating profit in Q1 FY2026.

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Volkswagen

1. Hermann Münch1946–1947

   Chief Executive Officer

   Early executive involved in the incredibly complex immediate post-war administration of the completely destroyed factory under British military control.

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2. Heinrich Nordhoff1948–1968

   Chief Executive Officer

   The absolute legendary post-war architect who took the ruins of the VW factory and transformed the Beetle into a massive, globally beloved cultural icon and economic miracle.

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3. Kurt Lotz1968–1971

   Chief Executive Officer

   Early post-war leader who began the critical process of diversifying VW's lineup beyond relying entirely on a single model (the Beetle).

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4. Rudolf Leiding1971–1975

   Chief Executive Officer

   Crucial CEO who managed the extremely difficult, highly risky transition away from the iconic but severely outdated Beetle toward modern, front-wheel-drive water-cooled cars (like the Golf).

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5. Toni Schmücker1975–1982

   Chief Executive Officer

   Guided the company through the severe financial crises of the 1970s, ensuring the successful launch and massive adoption of the original VW Golf.

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6. Carl Hahn1982–1993

   Chief Executive Officer

   As CEO in the 1980s, he executed the massive, highly strategic acquisitions of SEAT and Skoda, laying the foundation for VW's absolute dominance in Europe.

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7. Ferdinand Piëch1993–2002

   Chief Executive Officer

   As the legendary, absolutely ruthless patriarch (and grandson of Ferdinand Porsche), he transformed VW from a struggling mass-market brand into the most powerful automotive conglomerate on Earth.

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8. Bernd Pischetsrieder2002–2006

   Chief Executive Officer

   Serving as CEO from 2002 to 2006, he oversaw the incredibly complex integration of massive luxury brands like Bugatti and Bentley into the VW Group portfolio.

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9. Martin Winterkorn2007–2015

   Chief Executive Officer

   As the notoriously demanding, absolutely feared CEO, he oversaw massive global expansion but fostered a culture of absolute terror that led engineers to cheat rather than admit failure.

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10. Matthias Müller2015–2018

    Chief Executive Officer

    As CEO during the darkest period in modern VW history, he initiated the massive cultural purge of the toxic, highly secretive engineering culture that caused the cheating scandal.

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11. Herbert Diess2018–2022

    Chief Executive Officer

    Serving as CEO, he forcefully dragged the massive, highly bureaucratic legacy automaker into the Tesla era, though his abrasive style alienated the powerful Porsche-Piëch families.

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12. Oliver Blume2022–present

    Chairman of the Board of Management

    He also ran Porsche AG alongside the group role until Michael Leiters took over as Porsche CEO on January 1, 2026, leaving Blume focused on Volkswagen Group.

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Nissan

• Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (34% Controlling Stake)2016$2.2B
• Mitsubishi Motors2016Undisclosed
• Prince Motor Company1966Undisclosed

Volkswagen

• Porsche AG2012Undisclosed
• Bentley Motors1998Undisclosed
• Bugatti1998Undisclosed
• SEAT1986Undisclosed
• Auto Union / Audi1965Undisclosed