Nissan engineering chief David Moss wins prestigious award from Autocar

• David Moss from Nissan Technical Centre Europe receives prestigious Mundy Award in recognition of services to automotive engineering.
• Honour recognises his involvement with the engineering and development of the pioneering Nissan Qashqai
• Now Senior Vice President for Research & Development, David joined Nissan in 1989 and has overseen all three generations of the Qashqai since its launch in 2007. A long-standing and hugely respected engineer in Nissan’s research and development operation has won one of the automotive industry’s most prestigious awards.

David Moss, Senior Vice President for Research and Development across Nissan’s Africa, Middle East, India, Europe and Oceania region, has been presented with the Mundy Award for Engineering by the automotive title Autocar. The award recognises his involvement with development of the Nissan Qashqai, which has grown to become one of the UK’s most influential and popular vehicles since its launch in 2007.

Mark Tisshaw, Autocar editor, said: ‘‘Many congratulations to David Moss on receiving the Mundy Award for Engineering at the 2024 Autocar Awards. Competition in this category is always fierce and David should be very proud of his achievement.

‘‘This award is given with Qashqai very much in mind but David’s work includes many other projects. He has a real depth of expertise and experience, not to mention notable leadership and management qualities, that we’re only too delighted to recognise.’’ 

Moss, who - to quote Autocar - has enjoyed a stellar career with the Japanese manufacturer, was selected for the honour largely because of his work in creating and developing the pioneering British-built Nissan Qashqai. More than four million examples of the car have been produced since its arrival in 2007 and it is a regular fixture among the UK’s best-selling cars.

Receiving the Mundy Award for Engineering at the 2024 Autocar Awards. David said: ‘‘This is a huge honour, not to mention a big surprise, and I’d like to express my thanks to Autocar for recognising my contribution in this way.

‘‘However, I see this award as recognition of the efforts put in by the many talented colleagues I have had the pleasure to work with down the years in developing some great cars, especially our flagship Qashqai – this award is for them just as much as it is for me.

The Qashqai is such an important car for Nissan and its success is down to the supreme talents of thousands of people across the UK, Spain, Belgium and Germany – the designers, engineers and of course the team building it in Sunderland. It’s a true success story in which I’m delighted to have played my part.”

Based at Nissan Technical Centre Europe in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, David joined Nissan as a graduate engineer in 1989. Rising through the ranks at the company, he took on roles in Europe and Japan involving body design, interior and HVAC engineering, plus corporate planning.

He’s proud to say he has been involved in all three generations of Qashqai – from concept stages to the start of production and is delighted to have seen the model evolve and become synonymous with the crossover segment.

But it’s not just his track record that David can be proud of – his team are also playing a vital role in the company’s transition to electric vehicles, with a mission to reduce emissions and introduce a wave of new connectivity and safety technologies to the market.

Under Nissan’s EV36Zero project, the UK government has already awarded £15m of funding for a £30m collaborative project led by Nissan. It will strengthen the technical expertise and R&D zero emission vehicle capability of the Nissan Technical Centre (NTCE) in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, increasing opportunities for securing additional UK R&D investment in future vehicle models.

The funding also forms part of Nissan’s wider plans to create a world-first EV manufacturing ecosystem in the UK, enabled by investment of up to £3bn, and delivering renewable energy infrastructure, battery gigafactories and future electric versions of Qashqai, Juke and LEAF.

The Mundy Award is named after Harry Mundy, Autocar’s very first technical editor and a prolific figure in British engineering history.