Women Who Lead: An Interview with Renuka Kirpalani

Renuka Kirpalani is the Executive Editor of Video Content at Autocar India and Editor at the Autocar Show on Times Network. We spoke with her about her career and how to excel as a woman in any industry. 

Renuka’s father tuned, raced, and restored cars, so from a young age she was surrounded by cars. This turned into a passion for cars and racing but automotive was not something her father wanted her to be involved with. When she was old enough to drive, Renuka bought a race car from her father and won her first ever race, she says “That’s when my Dad realized I wasn’t giving up on my dream.” 

Racing turned from a hobby into a full-time job helping her Dad at the workshop but she later went on to pursue hairdressing and interior design, looking for the right career. After taking a step back from automotive to have her children and help with her husband’s business, cars came calling again. 

Renuka was friends with the Editor of Autocar India, Hormazd Sorabjee from her racing days. “They were starting a TV show and Hormazd called out of the blue and said ‘We want someone who knows about cars to be doing the show, would you be interested?’” 

At first, Renuka wasn’t sure it was a real audition, but she went to the screen test and did a walk-around review of a car in front of the camera. “When we were younger Hormazd was known for pulling the most elaborate pranks on people so when he first called me to discuss the show I was all set for this to be one of his pranks. So I don’t think I took it as seriously as I should have, maybe I would have been more nervous.” 

But this confidence shined through and Renuka was offered the role. “When they called me after the screen test, the first question they asked me was why I was so comfortable with the car. I was a little taken aback but I said, “Look I’m 35, I’ve got two kids, and I really don’t care what anybody thinks. I like cars and I was just saying what I liked about it, I’m not bothered about the rest of the world.” 

After jumping in head first, 20 years later she’s still loving reviewing cars and has forged a path as an extremely successful and influential role model in automotive journalism. Renuka explains that when she started as an automotive presenter, she didn’t have any female role models that reviewed cars. Instead, she took inspiration from people in the television industry. 

Now she says, “I’m seeing more and more female automotive journalists coming up, especially in this country.” Renuka is also a judge for Women’s World Car of the Year, where over 70 female automotive journalists vote on the best cars of the year. “Being a part of the Women’s World Car of the Year actually shocked me as to how many female motoring journalists there are across the world that I had no knowledge about.” 

Some of her colleagues have explained how they’ve faced discrimination in the automotive industry, but thankfully this is not something Renuka has experienced personally. “From a country like India, where you expect people to have opinions about a woman being in a man’s world. I’ve never faced it from the industry, or from my peers and colleagues.” 

In fact, there are many automotive companies in India encouraging women to join the industry. Ola has an electric scooter factory in Tamil Nadu that’s run completely by women. The factory aims to employ over 10,000 women and become the largest female-run factory in the world. MG Motor India is also a big employer of female staff throughout the company and aims to have a workforce of 50% women by the end of this year. 

Renuka comments, “There’s a big movement to get women inducted into all areas of automotive and I think it’s making a difference because people are now seeing it as a career opportunity, people are now seeing it as a direction that they can grow in.” 

Whilst this is traditionally a male-dominated field, these changes are making automotive far more accessible for women. But Renuka explains, “I think the challenges I’ve faced are the same challenges any woman in any career faces. It’s that guilt of leaving things behind at home, especially in a job where you have to travel so much and you’re away from home. It’s finding that work-life balance.” 

Whether it’s automotive or anything else, Renuka says, “My advice is, whatever it is, just follow your dream and be confident in what you do. There will be stumbles but that’s going to happen to you in any walk of life. Don’t be taken aback by public judgment, it’ll happen and you can face it. As long as you’re confident about what you do and how you do it, there’s nothing to worry about.” 

Trinity G Francis is an International automotive journalist and motoring writer focused on all aspects of automotive content, with particular attention to emerging trends, industry innovations, tech, and consumer advice.