Nissan Motor Company was first established in 1934 when they initially built trucks, airplanes, and engines for the Japanese military. By the 1950s Nissan made a conscious decision to expand into worldwide markets.

Nissan management realized their Datsun small car line would fill an unmet need in markets such as Australia and the world's largest car market, the USA. In 1958 they first showed cars at the 1959 Los Angeles auto show, and sold a few cars that year in the United States. The company formed a U.S. subsidiary, Nissan Motor Corporation in the USA in 1959.

By continually technologically improving their cars, along with chic Italianate styling and adding sporty cars such as the Datsun Fairlady roadsters, the sporty and race-winning 411 Series, the Datsun 510 and the world-class Datsun 240Z sports car, by 1970 Nissan had became one of the world's largest exporters of automobiles.

In the late 20th century, with Nissan facing severe financial difficulties, Nissan entered an alliance with Renault S.A. of France. Signed on March 27, 1999, the Renault-Nissan Alliance was the first of its kind involving a Japanese and a French company, each with its own distinct corporate culture and brand identity. Under a Nissan Revival Plan, the company has rebounded in what many leading economists consider to be one of the most spectacular corporate turnarounds in history, catapulting Nissan to record profits and a dramatic revitalization of both its Nissan and Infiniti model line-ups.