- Expertise: Electric vehicles, marketing, sales, advertising, digital communications
- Availability: Phone, TV and radio interviews
- Location: Paris, France
- Languages spoken: English
- DOB: March 1980
Who is Gareth Dunsmore?
Gareth is currently Electric Vehicles Director for Nissan Europe, a role which encompasses three main areas: infrastructure, sales and marketing for electric vehicles (EV). Since the creation of this role in 2013, similar positions have been created in the US and Japan.
The role is varied and can range from managing a rapidly changing business environment to innovation and marketing. Scope includes driving sales, launching new EV models, and working with marketing teams to generate awareness of EVs and to encourage long-term consumer behaviour change. He also works alongside Nissan's external affairs department to communicate with European governments on the importance of investing in charging infrastructure.
Career history
Gareth has been with Nissan for the past 12 years, having joined the company as a sales officer before moving to the graduate programme in 2003. A year later he became a Business Centre Controller in the UK, where he introduced a standardised customer promise and incentive scheme. In 2005 he moved to be a Sales Performance Section Manager, covering 22 dealers in central Southern England.
Four years later, Gareth moved to Paris to become the Interactive Section Manager for Nissan in Europe, where he was part of the team that launched a new digital platform for the website, mobile, and tablet across 27 languages in just six months.
From February 2011 to April 2012, Gareth was the Product Manager for Nissan Juke, where he was responsible for the strategy to deliver the performance version of the vehicle – the Juke NISMO. For this position he moved to Rolle, Switzerland, and he describes the success of the vehicle as having "captured the hearts of many countries across Europe".
He became Marketing Communications General Manager Europe in May 2012, before taking on his current roles of Electric Vehicle Director in 2015.
Achievements at Nissan
Gareth is extremely proud of his work around the launch of the new Nissan LEAF, which hit the roads in January of 2018. "From a legacy perspective, the original LEAF is a real stand-out for Nissan, and the best-selling Electric Vehicle in history. To have been able to build on that legacy, improve the vehicle's capabilities, and usher in the next generation of Electric Vehicles, has been a fantastic project to be involved in." he said.
Personal Memory
Gareth says he remembers, for a number of reasons, when he was working on the Juke-R and the vehicle was put up against a Lamborghini Diablo, Ferrari 458, and Mercedes SLS in the Dubai Marina.
Why is Nissan Different?
Gareth says that Nissan is special because anyone in the company can have an idea that is taken forward. "If you come up with idea that delivers on building innovation that excites, then people listen", Gareth says. "There are always new opportunities to help us deliver our brand objectives across Europe and the company is a big supporter of that empowerment."
Future Predictions
Gareth believes the future is an exciting mix of everything from Autonomous Drive through to fuel efficiency and connected cities. "We need to continue to grapple with these but put simply," Gareth says, "a connected world linked to autonomous and EV is going to continue to accelerate at a rate of knots. The car industry will move to a position of continuous evolution, rather than just new vehicles every few years."
Education
- BSc in Psychology, University of Exeter
- Diploma in Marketing, Chartered Institute of Marketing
In Gareth's Personal Time
Gareth enjoys spending time with his family, and playing rugby and golf. He is also a keen runner and completed his second triathlon in 2014.
Gareth's Current Ride
Gareth currently drives a black 24kw Nissan LEAF. His first car was a silver Rover Metro.