Datsun began as DATSON, the son of DAT, until someone noticed that "son" sounds like the Japanese word for loss. The sun took its place, and a sun still sits at the heart of the Nissan badge.
- Country
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Japan - Active
- Since 1933
- Founded by
- Yoshisuke Aikawa
- Website
- Official website ↗
A son of DAT, renamed for the sun
The sun on the Nissan badge goes back to a joke about a name. In 1931 a Japanese car company built a small 500cc car and called it DATSON, the son of DAT. There was a problem. In Japanese, “son” sounds like a word that means loss. So when sales began in March 1932, the son became a SUN, a word with brighter associations. Datsun was born.
DAT itself was older. Kwaishinsha Jidosha Kojo, founded in 1911 by M. Hashimoto, wanted to build cars suited to Japan. Its small two-cylinder car of 1914 was named with the initials of the surnames of three investors: D, A and T. After mergers the business became DAT Jidosha Seizo.
Enter Yoshisuke Aikawa. He saw the quality of the DAT car and bought its manufacturing rights. On 26 December 1933 Jidosha Seizo Co., Ltd. was set up in Yokohama with Aikawa as president, and in June 1934 it was renamed Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Nissan still gives 26 December 1933 as its date of establishment, and its global headquarters are in Yokohama.
A red sun and a blue bar
Nissan’s own chronology records that its corporate mark was chosen in May 1935, the same year the Yokohama Plant opened as what Nissan calls Japan’s first automobile mass production facility. The early Datsun badge was a red circle crossed by a blue rectangle carrying the name, a layout that also brought the Japanese flag to mind.
That basic idea, a circle with a band across it, survived decades of new lettering on Datsun and Nissan cars. According to Top Gear, the version that unified the badge on every Nissan in every market arrived in 2001. Nissan itself says simply that the outgoing logo had been in use for about 20 years when it was replaced in 2020. It was a raised, three-dimensional badge, solid and industrial.
Belief strong enough to pierce the sun
Nissan ties its logo to a phrase from its founder. Aikawa used the saying “Shisei tenjitsu o tsuranuku”, which Nissan interprets as: if you have a strong belief, it will penetrate even the sun. The circle is the sun. The name runs straight through it.
According to Nissan Trinidad and Tobago, the circle stands for a rising sun and for Japan’s Hinomaru flag. On the current logo, small horizontal elements take the place of the old bar and suggest an emerging sun reflected in water.
Thin, light and flexible: the 2020 redesign
The new logo started with three words. In summer 2017 Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan’s senior vice president of global design, began studying a change and gave his team a brief: thin, light and flexible. A group led by Tsutomu Matsuo of the advanced design department spent about two years sketching options, from a light touch to a full reinvention.
They worked backwards. The badge was drafted first in 3D as an illuminated emblem for electric cars, then turned into a flat 2D logo. The outline had to be just thick enough to look crisp when lit, and it had to meet government rules for lights on cars. On Nissan’s EVs the badge glows with 20 LEDs, one for each year since the previous redesign.
The result keeps the Nissan name at the centre but swaps the raised old badge for a thin, flat outline. Nissan describes the shift as moving from a hard-edged, industrial feel to a refined, digital-friendly one. It premiered on 15 July 2020 alongside the Ariya, the first car to wear it, and soon appeared on letterheads, dealer signs and social media. Dezeen reports four variants, in white and black, with and without a shadow effect.
From red and blue to monochrome
The Datsun era badge was red and blue, a combination that recalled the Japanese flag. The 2020 logo is monochrome: it is shown in white or black, so it can sit on screens, paper and the front of a car without changing its shape.
Under the sun badge
Nissan’s cars have collected a long list of firsts, at least by the company’s own count. In 1966 a merger with Prince Motors brought the Skyline into the family, and the Skyline line eventually grew into the GT-R.
Landmark Nissans and Datsuns, decade by decade
- 1932: Datsun. The small car first called DATSON went on sale in March 1932 under its new, sunnier name.
- 1935: Datsun 14 Roadster. The first car to come off the fully integrated assembly system at the new Yokohama Plant.
- 1969: Skyline 2000GT-R. Nissan lists it as a world first: four-valve DOHC in a mass-produced vehicle.
- 1969: Fairlady Z. The first Z, model S30, launched in October 1969.
- 2007: GT-R. The R35, which Nissan says evolved from the Skyline line into a super sports car.
- 2010: LEAF. Launched in December 2010, described by Nissan as the world’s first mass-produced EV.
- 2020: Ariya. Nissan’s first crossover EV and the first car to wear the 2020 logo.
Nissan’s premium cars are sold under the Infiniti brand, and since 2016 Nissan has held a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors. For more badges from the early days of motoring, see our guide to classic car logos.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Nissan logo mean?
Nissan links it to founder Yoshisuke Aikawa’s saying that a strong belief will penetrate even the sun. The circle is the sun and the Nissan name passes through it.
Where does the name Datsun come from?
From DAT, a car named with the initials of three investors. Its smaller successor was called DATSON, son of DAT, but “son” sounds like the Japanese word for loss, so it became DATSUN when sales began in 1932.
When did Nissan change its logo?
The current flat logo premiered on 15 July 2020 with the Ariya. It replaced a three-dimensional badge that Nissan says had been used for about 20 years.
Why does the Nissan badge light up with 20 LEDs?
The number matches the 20 years between the previous logo redesign and the 2020 one. The illuminated badge appears on Nissan’s electric cars.
The rising sun dossier
- Founded
- 1933
- Founder
- Yoshisuke Aikawa
- Country
- Japan
- Headquarters
- Yokohama, Japan
- Current emblem
- A thin, flat circle outline with the NISSAN name across its centre, introduced in July 2020 with the Ariya
- Known for
- Datsun, the Skyline GT-R, the Z cars and the LEAF
- Website
- Official website ↗
