Datsun is an automobile brand owned by Nissan. Datsun's original production run began in 1931. From 1958 to 1986, only vehicles exported by Nissan were identified as Datsun. In 1986, Nissan phased out the Datsun name but re-launched it in 2013 as the brand for low-cost vehicles manufactured for emerging markets.In 1931, Dat Motorcar Co. chose to name its new small car "Datson", a name which indicated the new car's smaller size when compared to the DAT's larger vehicle already in production.