Just after World War II ended and Japan was completely destroyed, there was a massive shortage of fuel. A few employees of the Tachikawa Aircraft Co., which made bombers, trainer planes (Ishikawajima fighter planes were also made by them), decided to use their expertise in building a car that would do away with petrol. The employees who were now working under a new firm called Prince Motors (later purchased by Nissan) created something revolutionary.

The Nissan Tama was an electric car that rolled out in 1947. It was named after the place where it was produced, i.e., Tama, a place in the west of Tokyo city.

A microcar with 4.5 horsepower, a wooden frame, and two doors could seat four passengers. With a speed of 35 km/hr, this car would do about 60 km on a single charge. As the battery pack was lead-based and very heavy, it was smartly placed below the floor inside a compartment that had sliding rollers and helped the car remain stable when driven.