Soft hardware

Why are Indian IT professionals keeping away from flashy cars?

Top-level people working in IT companies in India draw salaries that are at par with their global counterparts and even lead lives that can, at times, make globe-trotting executives envious.

However, when in the country, our IT professionals tend not to use fast and flashy automobiles and stick to mid-segment cars. Why? They're taking a cue from their bosses, that's why.

Top employees in some of the well-known IT firms including Infosys and Wipro are sacrificing the urge to buy BMWs or Mercedes-Benzes, simply because their bosses don't own one. For instance, Infosys chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy and Wipro chairman Azim Premji do not own luxury sedans.

Both Premji and Murthy use Toyota Corollas rather than ostentatious Mercedes, Beemers or Audis, even though they could easily afford them.

At times, Premji also travels in autorickshaws and public buses, while Murthy prefers an Ambassador to cruise around the Garden City. During one of his visits to Mumbai last year, Murthy had said that he preferred Indian cars, but did not elaborate.

"Some of my senior colleagues who now work in India (after a stint in the US) are using modest cars like the Suzuki Swift or Ford Fiesta, taking a clue from senior executives in the company. However, when they were abroad, like in the US for instance, they drove around in BMWs and Mercs," a senior Wipro official said on condition of anonymity.

An official at Infosys agreed and shared a similar experience. 'It is not that these executives cannot afford luxury saloons, but they feel it is not right to travel in these cars, especially when their bosses use simple cars.'

According to a well-known human resources consultant, this trend is noticeable only in the IT industry, which is by far the richest sector in comparison to any other sector in the country.

Another factor why Indian top executives prefer modest cars is that "Indians generally tend to drive compact midsize cars due to poor infrastructure conditions in the country. Moreover, higher degree of taxes on foreign vehicles in India and stratospheric maintenance costs are deterrents", another Infosysian said.

However, Aftek Infosys managing director Ranjit Dhuru had a different take on the subject.

"A high-end car is an easily noticeable symbol of wealth and Indians generally don't like to flaunt. They might be buying less noticeable things like expensive villas or real estate in many locales, they might be connoisseurs of other expensive items like art or they might be taking trips abroad... At the end of the day it his personal choice." Dhuru has an SUV and a Merc and uses them alternately.

Oh, and he doesn't bother about the vehicles his employees drive.