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In 1935, a branch dedicated to the production of commercial vehicles sprouted from the formidable tree of Nissan Motors, named Nissan Diesel. The fledgling enterprise introduced its pioneering product, a truck with a 5-ton capacity, dubbed the T5. As the 1950s dawned, Nissan Diesel broadened its portfolio by venturing into bus manufacturing. Their U10-series buses swiftly became a household name in Japan, underlining the company’s aptitude for crafting reliable vehicles.

The subsequent decades witnessed Nissan Diesel expanding its footprint, marking its territory across various Asian nations, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, by the 1970s. By the 1980s, the company, eager to keep pace with changing times and demands, rolled out new heavy-duty trucks such as the PK and CWA series. This move fortified Nissan Diesel’s position, enabling it to stand tall as one of the premier truck manufacturers in Asia.

However, the 1990s brought with them winds of change in the Japanese automotive landscape, nudging Nissan Diesel towards a tighter embrace with its parent, Nissan Motors. By 2010, as a testament to the company’s evolving identity and in sync with Nissan Motors’ restructuring maneuvers, Nissan Diesel was rechristened as UD Trucks. This new moniker gracefully encapsulated the brand’s rich heritage.

UD Trucks’ passion for innovation shone brightly with the unveiling the Quon series in 2013, a premium range of heavy-duty trucks. Yet, the tides of business strategy led Nissan Motors to hand over the reins of UD Trucks to Isuzu in 2021, allowing the former to channel its energies more intently on its core venture of passenger vehicles.