Car maker Nissan is to stop producing vehicles under the Datsun name, which has a more than century-long history. It was one of the brands that helped Japan's carmakers become established globally after the Second World War. Despite selling millions of cars around the world, the Datsun name was phased out in the 1980s. The company revived the brand three decades later, describing the new range of vehicles as "an important part of Nissan's DNA". Before the Datsun brand name came into being, a car named the DAT was built in 1914 by the Kaishinsha Motorcar Works in Tokyo. The word DAT was an acronym of the family names of three early investors in the business: Den, Aoyama and Takeuchi. It also literally means 'lightning fast' in Japanese. At the same time, it was promoted as Durable, Attractive and Trustworthy, or DAT for short. Datsun was one of the brands that helped Japanese carmakers establish themselves in Europe, the US and Asia after World War II. It was one of the main brands Nissan marketed globally, besides the mainstream Nissan and the luxury Infiniti. Nissan said on Monday that it will now focus on "core models and segments that bring the most benefit to customers, dealer partners and the business" as part of a global transformation strategy.
