Autocar Great Women: Rising Stars 2025, an initiative run by Autocar in association with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, celebrates the up-and-coming stars of the British automotive industry.
The industry’s top rising stars will be announced at a ceremony on 30 April.
The top candidates will be selected from the following areas of the car industry: Retail, manufacturing, operations, talent, PR and communications, purchasing, sales, vehicle development and government affairs.
In addition, there will be an apprentice category.
Information on each category is detailed below.
A winner will be selected in each category, with an overall victor then chosen from that shortlist.
Individuals can put themselves forward for consideration, or can be nominated by friends, colleagues and employers.
Please look far and wide within your organisation for women to nominate - we’re encouraging people to think outside of their immediate team for people deserving of an award.
Those nominating will need to supply evidence of the nominee’s potential to rise to the top of the industry.
There is no limit on the number of nominations submitted, but they must be registered by 09.00am on 10 February.
Submit your entry, or nominate a colleague, here
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CATEGORIES
Retail
Open to anyone in retail sales, aftersales and workshops, but we will accept entries from other areas of the retail industry if appropriate.
Marketing
Open to anyone who holds a marketing role for an OEM, supplier or retailer. You must be able to demonstrate that your input makes a difference to the way that customers interact with or perceive your brand, be it on a local, regional, national or international level.
Manufacturing
Open to anyone whose role encompasses manufacturing for an OEM or supplier. This can cover small- or large-scale manufacturing, ranging from prototype to full-scale assembly.
Operations
Open to anyone whose role encompasses an operations element in the OEM, supplier and sales environments. This includes finance and purchasing. This is a broad category, but deliberately so, in order to highlight rising stars who are making a difference to the core fabric of their business.
Talent
This category reflects the importance of the sector to attract and nurture talent, provide growth, support wellbeing and foster a strong culture of diversity and inclusion. Enter this category if you have helped to move the game on by being part of a new inclusive system or policy and can demonstrate the impact of it, be that within a small business or a multinational entity. It is not aimed solely at HR professionals and is open to anyone who works in automotive.
PR and communications
Open to anyone who holds a PR or communications role for an OEM, supplier or retailer. You must be able to demonstrate that your input makes a difference to the way that your brand is perceived by customers, your direct community and internal stakeholders (or other areas, as appropriate).
Purchasing
Open to anyone who works in the procurement side of a business, be that a large OEM or smaller supplier or retailer. The size of the business isn’t important, but you should demonstrate that you can bring cost savings to a business using innovative thinking and/or a successful relationship with suppliers.
Sales
Open to anyone whose role encompasses sales for an OEM, supplier or retailer. This could range from running a key part of a sales operation for a UK importer through to consistently smashing targets in a showroom environment.
Vehicle development
Open to those whose senior role involves vehicle development for an OEM or supplier. This award is restricted to development, rather than encompassing vehicle sales or marketing.
Government affairs
Open to anyone who works for a governing body or lobby group that makes a difference in the economic and/or political environment of the automotive industry.
Apprentice
Open to anyone working on an apprenticeship scheme at the time of entry within the retail and manufacturer environments. Applicants must demonstrate an enthusiasm for the chosen specialism and a future career within the car industry. A clear vision of what you want to achieve during your career AND how you expect to achieve it should be demonstrated.
Submit your entry, or nominate a colleague, here