Dec 1933
Launch
Jidosha Seizo Co., Ltd., predecessor of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., is established in Yokohama in December 1933 and takes the name Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. in June 1934 (Nissan Global website, Our History, 1930s page).
1947
Launch
Tokyo Electro Automobile Co., later Prince Motors, begins selling the Tama electric car in 1947, a model Nissan counts as its first EV; Prince merges into Nissan in 1966 (Nissan Global website, Our History 1940s and 1960s pages; EV Milestones page).
Aug 2009
Launch
Nissan unveils the LEAF, a five-seat electric hatchback with a range of more than 160 km (100 miles), in Yokohama on August 2, 2009, with launch slated for late 2010 (Nissan press release, August 2, 2009).
Dec 2010
Commercial
Nissan starts LEAF sales in the U.S. and Japan in December 2010; the Japan price starts at 3,764,250 yen and the 2011 U.S. MSRP is $32,780 (Nissan FY10 third-quarter presentation, February 9, 2011; Nissan press releases, December 3, 2010 and March 30, 2010).
Sep 2017
Launch
Nissan introduces the new LEAF on September 6, 2017, with a 40 kWh battery, 400 km of range on Japan's JC08 cycle and ProPILOT driver assist (Nissan Global Newsroom release, September 6, 2017).
Nov 2018
Paused
Nissan says an internal investigation found Chairman Carlos Ghosn under-reported his compensation, and CEO Hiroto Saikawa will propose removing him as Chairman and Representative Director (Nissan press release, November 19, 2018).
Jul 2020
Launch
Nissan introduces the Ariya electric crossover on July 15, 2020, with an estimated range of up to 610 km and Japan sales planned for mid-2021 (Nissan press release, July 15, 2020).
Sep 2020
Milestone
Nissan marks production of the 500,000th LEAF at its Sunderland plant in England on World EV Day, September 9, 2020 (Nissan press release, September 9, 2020).
Jul 2022
Commercial
Nissan suspends Ariya B6 (2WD) orders in Japan on July 19, 2022 as chip shortages and logistics limit supply (Nissan Global Newsroom notice, July 19, 2022).
Mar 2024
Milestone
Nissan launches The Arc business plan on March 25, 2024: 30 new models to be launched by fiscal year 2026, of which 16 will be electrified, next-generation EV cost cut by 30% with EV and ICE cost parity by fiscal year 2030, and new EVs with enhanced NCM li-ion, LFP and all-solid-state batteries to launch in fiscal year 2028 (Nissan press release, March 25, 2024).
Nov 2024
Paused
Nissan announces with its first-half fiscal 2024 results on November 7, 2024 that it will cut global production capacity by 20% and reduce its global workforce by 9,000, aiming to lower fixed costs by JPY 300 billion and variable costs by JPY 100 billion against fiscal 2024 (Nissan news release, November 7, 2024; Nissan FY2024 first-half financial results presentation, November 7, 2024).
Dec 2024
Partnership
Honda and Nissan sign a memorandum of understanding on December 23, 2024 to begin discussions on a business integration through a joint holding company, with a definitive agreement planned for June 2025 and the share transfer planned for August 2026, and say they aim for sales revenue above JPY 30 trillion and operating profit above JPY 3 trillion (Honda Form 6-K, December 23, 2024).
Feb 2025
Paused
Nissan and Honda agree on February 13, 2025 to terminate their December 2024 memorandum of understanding on considering a business integration after Honda proposed making itself the parent and Nissan a subsidiary through a share exchange; both cite the need for speed of decision-making and say they will collaborate through a strategic partnership. On March 11, 2025 Nissan announces that Ivan Espinosa will replace Makoto Uchida as president and CEO effective April 1, 2025 (Nissan news release, February 13, 2025; Nissan news release, March 11, 2025).
Jun 2025
Launch
Nissan unveils the all-new third-generation LEAF on 17 Jun 2025 with 52 kWh and 75 kWh batteries, up to 303 miles of estimated U.S. range on select 75 kWh grades, and a NACS port with Plug and Charge on U.S. and Canadian models (Nissan release, 17 Jun 2025).
Nissan