Nissan Maxima Nissan Maxima The Nissan Maxima is a mid-size car manufactured by Nissan and sold primarily in North America, the Middle East, and China. Making its sales debut in 1981 for the 1982 model year as the Datsun Maxima, it replaced the earlier Datsun 810. The name "Maxima" dates back to 1980 for the 1981 model year when the upscale 810 sold as the "810 Maxima" in North America. Like the 810, early versions of the Maxima had their origins in the Datsun/Nissan Bluebird. The Datsun brand was phased out in favor of Nissan in 1984 for the 1985 model year,
Nissan Cefiro (A31) to a slightly larger executive sedan. Generally, the A32 was only badged as the Cefiro in Japan for the domestic market; A32s that were exported new from Japan often wore the Maxima badge. In Europe, the A32 was sold as the "Nissan Maxima QX". In Taiwan the Cefiro A32 was manufactured by Yulon under the Nissan brand. Other countries that adopted the Cefiro name included Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. In Korea, it was badge engineered and introduced as the Renault Samsung SM5. Certain Cefiro sold in Taiwan and South East Asian countries has rear license plate on the trunk