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Nissan Group

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Japanese conglomerate
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Nissan Group
日産コンツェルン
Company typePublic
IndustryConglomerate
Founded1928; 96 years ago in Japan
FounderYoshisuke Aikawa from assets of Fusanosuke Kuhara and Namihei Odaira
SuccessorNissan
Hitachi
ENEOS
Bussan Real Estate
HeadquartersChiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Area servedWorldwide
ProductsIndustrial machinery, telecommunications, power plants, information systems, electronics, automotive, materials, financial services, construction

Nissan Group (日産コンツェルン, Nissan Kontserun, "Nissan Concern"), or formerly Nissan zaibatsu, is a group of companies and Japan's most powerful business groupings.

Founded in 1928 by Yoshisuke Aikawa, the group was originally a holding company created as an offshoot of Kuhara Mining Co. (became Nippon Mining & Metals Company; currently part of JXTG Holdings), which Aikawa had taken over as president of from his brother-in-law, Fusanosuke Kuhara. After the bankruptcy of the Kuhara zaibatsu following World War I, Aikawa reorganized its assets into Japan Industries or Nihon Sangyo Corporation (日本産業株式会社, Nihon Sangyō kabushiki gaisha), Nissan for short.

The group's core business was real estate and insurance with hundreds of member companies, including fisheries, mining companies, and was affiliated with Hitachi, as well as what Nissan is now known for—its automobile business. After World War II, the zaibatsu was disbanded, and reformed into Nichiyo-kai, otherwise known as Nissan Group.

Although the Nissan name was primarily known for its car manufacturing outside Japan, Nissan Motor was a comparatively small side business compared to its core real estate business until the real estate crash of the early 1990s (see Japanese asset price bubble). Like the similar subprime crisis, the crash dealt a devastating blow to the Nissan Group by leaving it with several hundred billions of dollars of debt.

The Nissan Group has long since shed the majority of its real estate assets (which were sold to Mitsui & Co and still operates as the Bussan Real Estate Company), and has focused on manufacturing and insurance. Nissan Motor was given more independence as French automotive manufacturer Renault bought a 38.8% stake in the company for $5.4 billion in 1999 and appointed Carlos Ghosn as CEO of the new Renault–Nissan Alliance. Nissan Motor's successful turnaround was attributed to CEO Ghosn's ability to detach it from its keiretsu connections and eliminate 23,000 jobs from the Japanese workforce.

Brands

Companies

Former members

See also

References

Japan's zaibatsu, keiretsu, and modern corporate groups
Big 4 zaibatsu (preceding World War II)
Second tier zaibatsu (preceding World War II)
Big 6 Keiretsu (until roughly 10 years after Japanese asset price bubble ended in 1991)
Transitionary keiretsu
  • UFJ Group (originated from Sanwa Group, later renamed to "Midori Kai")
Current groups
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