Honda Motor Europe names Tom Gardner as new Senior Vice President

• Gardner has worked with Honda since 1991
• Career has included time as President of Honda’s Nordic and Portuguese businesses
• Outgoing Senior Vice President, Philip Ross, to retire after 22 years with the brand

Honda Motor Europe has announced that Tom Gardner is to be appointed as Senior Vice President from April 2018, responsible for European sales performance across all of Honda’s product divisions. Gardner currently holds the role of General Manager, Regional Internal Audit and takes over from Philip Ross who will retire from the business.

Gardner has worked for Honda since 1991, during which time he has held 15 different positions across IT, product planning, marketing and aftersales. He also served as President of Honda’s Portuguese operations from 2011 to 2013, and its Nordic business from 2014 to 2017.

Gardner’s appointment comes at a time of change for the brand. In 2017, it announced that two-thirds of its European automobile sales would feature an electrified powertrain by 2025. The first step toward this goal is set to hit the market in 2019 in the form of the CR-V Hybrid.

Electrification is already a strong part of Honda’s power equipment offer in the lawn and garden category, including the Miimo and HRE ranges. Honda’s has also commenced trials of its Power Manager Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology as part of the SMILE project in France. This V2G technology supports businesses and electric car owners to harness, store and use surplus renewable energy with a commercial benefit.

Elsewhere in its product portfolio, Honda continues to be Europe’s number one brand in the motorcycle market, with a range of over 40 models from Europe’s best-selling scooter - the SH125 - to icons such as the Fireblade, Africa Twin and GL1800 Gold Wing.

Speaking about his new appointment, Gardner commented, “This year Honda will sell 1.5 million products to European customers across its range of automobiles, motorcycles and power equipment. I am excited to lead our sales operations as we transform our product range to meet future customer needs. I would like to thank Philip for his contribution to Honda, especially during his time as Senior Vice President of the European business. I wish him all the best for the future.”

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