In what must seem a strange move, Nissan developed a new saloon car, the Cedric, from the British Austin A40. At the end of the Second World War in Japan the then occupying powers known as GHQ (General Headquarters) had restricted car production. Nissan had limited scope to produce and develop anything new. It was in October 1949 when these restrictions were totally lifted, and things started to change.

Enter the Austin Motor Co. Ltd. of the UK, and a deal was done to manufacture A40s in a factory in Yokohama in 1952. The first of the knock down kits, it was merely an assembly task back then, was produced in April 1953. It was during this period that Nissan was to learn from the UK giant of automotive manufacture. This technology partnership was a big deal, as Austin had presence in America too and were selling quite well as they exported more to the US than any other.

The thinking at the time was that cars could just be imported from America, but the government was thinking longer term and sought technical deals with foreign automotive companies. For Nissan this meant that they would build 2000 A40s each year. Then slowly would start to source components internally and that Austin would provide all technical guidance towards totally domestic production.

It was in 1954 that the Austin A50 appeared and so Nissan started the model change. Only two years later Nissan built their first 100% made in Japan car. In December 1954, because of Austin’s model change in the UK, Nissan too shifted to assembly of the A50. Thanks to the tie up, Nissan was able to develop the Cedric (Model 30) in 1960. This was the expiration point of the partnership with Austin and the end of production of the A50. this was also the end of what was known as the Nissan Austin.

The Cedric appeared in March 1960, a full sized 1500cc saloon car. American influenced styling with the quad headlight arrangement and wraparound windscreen. The Custom model came in October 1961 and featured a 1883cc overhead valve engine with 85bhp.

This was Nissan’s first monocoque car, a significant milestone in the company’s history. The Model 30 lasted two years before being facelifted in 1962 to become the Model 31 before being completely replaced in 1965.