Nissan

In 1933 the Automobile Manufacturing Co adopted the manufacturing of Datsun cars and a year later Nissan Motor Company was formed. The first Datsun debuted in 1935 and production evolved to include trucks. The 1959 Bluebird of 1960 Cedric became hits with Japanese buyers, while the 1966 Sunny contributed to the rapid growth of the small car – including achieving popularity in the US thanks to its fuel efficiency. Australian manufacturing began the same year (finally ending in 1992), as did a merger with the Prince Motor Co that saw the Skyline name come into the frame – and find fame from 1989 with the first-generation GTR performance version. It was nicknamed ‘Godzilla’ in Australia and won Bathurst in 1991 and 1992 before effectively being banned by revised regulations. Nissan is also renowned for its “Z-car” sports car lineage, which began with the 240Z (Fairlady Z in Japan) in 1969, as well as SUVs such as the X-Trail. It formed a global alliance with Renault in 1999.