shortened to Nissan is a multinational automaker headquartered in Japan. It was formerly a core member of the Nissan Group, but has become more independent after its restructuring under Carlos Ghosn (CEO).
It formerly marketed vehicles under the "Datsun" brand name and is one of the largest car manufacturers. The company's main offices are located in the Ginza area of Chūō, Tokyo. In 1999, Nissan entered an alliance with Renault S.A. of France, which owns 44.4% of Nissan as of 2008. Nissan is among the top three Asian (also known as the Japanese Big 3 Automakers) rivals of the "Big Three" in the U.S. Currently they are the third largest Japanese car manufacturer. It also manufactures the Infiniti luxury brand.
The Nissan VQ engines, of V6 configuration, have featured among Ward's 10 Best Engines for 14 straight years, since the award's inception. For the truck and bus maker "Nissan Diesel," it is a separate company from Nissan Motors, please see UD instead.
The pronunciation of its name is different in different markets. In the U.S., the brand is pronounced /ˈniːsɑːn/, while in the UK it is /ˈnɪsæn/. In Japanese, it is