The Hindu Business Line : Attrition in IT sector revs up used car market

Each time an IT professional jumps a job, his negotiation with the new company includes a new car. So, the existing one is added to the used car fleet, while one more new car gets on to the roads.

Bangalore , Sept 5

THE used car market in the country is not what it used to be. Newer and latest versions of vehicles are flooding the pre-owned car market.

Corroborates Mr Anil Rao Paila, Zonal Head at Automart India, Bangalore, a leading dealer in pre-owned cars in the country, "Ford Fusion is passé while a couple of Maruti Swifts are already on the shelves." Curiously enough, this is being attributed to rising attrition rates in the IT and related sectors.

Mr Rao explains the trend: Each time an IT professional jumps a job (sometimes as often as every six months), his negotiation with the new company includes a new car. So, the existing one (which may be just about a year old) is added to the used car fleet, while one more new car gets on to the roads.

"Apart from giving us the latest versions, the techies also give us well-maintained cars," says Mr Rao. He attributes this to the software engineer's disciplined driving and low car usage because of long stints abroad.

Thus, pre-owned cars from Bangalore command upwards of five per cent premium compared to other city cars, maintains Mr Rao. The city also records a quick turnover of cars.

"Bangaloreans change their cars every two-three years while it's about five years in other cities," according to Mr Rao.

Corporates too contribute to this high turnover in car ownership with about 30-35 per cent of the pre-owned cars being offloaded by companies, says Mr M.P. Shyam, Director, Advaith Motors, a Hyundai dealer in Bangalore.

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