The Nissan Violet appeared in Japan in 1973, and was exclusive to Japanese Nissan dealerships called Nissan Cherry Store as a larger companion to the Nissan Cherry.
The second generation was then split into two additional lines in 1977, and was called the Nissan Auster and the Nissan Stanza. All three bore the A10 series identifier, and were built in Japan at both Hiratsuka and Yokosuka assembly plants to meet demand. The Stanza was exclusive to Japanese Nissan dealerships called Nissan Satio Store as a larger companion to the smaller Nissan Sunny, and the Auster triplet was exclusive to Nissan Prince Store locations as a larger companion to the Nissan Langley.
A new third generation front-wheel drive model was launched in 1981, changing the series name again to T11, and shared the platform with the Compact MPV Nissan Prairie/Multi/Stanza Wagon. Final versions were Nissan Bluebirds series U12 rebadged for some international markets. In most export markets the car was originally sold as the Datsun 140J or 160J depending on the engine; this name was then gradually changed to Nissan Stanza in most markets.