Volkswagen Santana - Santana (Japan)

Santana (Japan)

Aiming at a full partnership with Volkswagen, Nissan's then President Takashi Ishihara decided that producing the Santana for the Japanese market would be a good stepping stone. Negotiations began in 1981, and by February 1984, Nissan begun license production of the Santana at its Zama plant in Kanagawa, Japan. The Nissan Santana received the internal model code M30. The price of the Nissan Santana was considerably lower than of imported Volkswagens.

At introduction, the Nissan Santana was available with three different engines: A 100 PS (74 kW) 1,781 cc four (Li, Gi), a 110 PS (81 kW) 1,994 cc five (Gi5, Xi5) and a 72 PS (53 kW) 1,588 cc turbodiesel four (Lt, Gt Diesel Turbo). All came with a five-speed manual transmission as standard, while the gasoline engines were also available with a three-speed automatic. The Nissan Santana was 5 mm narrower than its German counterparts, so as to avoid a massive Japanese tax on cars wider than 1690 mm. Additionally, the grille and headlights were unique to the M30 Santana.

In May 1985 the Xi5 Autobahn version was added to the lineup, offering velour sports seats, electric sunroof and 14-inch alloy wheels. In January 1987 the Santana received a facelift, with a new fascia and new larger bumpers. The Turbodiesel was discontinued, leaving only gasoline-engined versions. The 1.8-litre Gi version was down to 91 PS (67 kW), while the Li and Gi5 equipment grades were dropped. The Xi5 Autobahn was now available with a new engine, however, as a DOHC version of the 2-litre five appeared with 140 PS (103 kW). With sales, originally aimed at 4,000-5,000 per month, only having reached 50,000 over seven years, Nissan ended production in May, 1990. Instead of renewing the production license, they began selling the new third-generation Volkswagen Passat through their dealer network. As Volkswagen and Toyota began cooperating in 1991, sales of Volkswagens through Nissan dealers ended.