--By Rashika Pokharel

 

When we think about cars, they remind us of luxury. But in the present context, car has become one of the basic necessities of people rather than being a luxurious item. Most people require car for their comfort as well as to get their work done quickly. Presently, one can find it tough to complete any work without their cars. Whether it is to go to work or back to home after that, family trip, romantic drives, emergencies or weekend leave, reply is car. What initially started as a luxury has now, transformed into basic necessity. Even without comprising a personal car, people are always using vehicles in one way or the other. People have become more and more reliant on vehicle. The car has become a symbol of the modern urban setting with more and more people buying cars.

 

Automobile market in Nepal is gaining momentum as the cars are gaining more popularity among many Nepalis. They are getting more attracted towards cars either as luxury or as their need.  Previously, buying a car was beyond the budget of normal Nepali families. However, today the scenario is different.  The roads filled with new cars in the town illustrate that Nepalis desire more cars.  One of the key reasons behind their increasing desire can be loan facilities offered by many banks which make convenient for the average Nepali to afford new cars. While buying a new car only 20 to 30 percent down payment is required while rest of the money can be paid on monthly installment basis. Moreover, the demand of imported cars is on the rise despite the customs of 240 percent. Although the fuel price is routinelyrising, this has not created a negative impact for both the car buyers as well as the car seller. Another factor which has been encouraging the people to buy cars is the road expansion activities.

 

 

Fuel versus cost efficient cars

 Cozy and fuel efficient cars are demanded by the customers. The customers usually go for those cars whose maintenance cost is low.  Nepali customers prefer buying petrol cars as they have much more advantages over diesel cars. The advantages of a petrol car are that petrol engines do not create noise when being driven, maintenance of a petrol engine car is less and have a higher acceleration.“Most of our customers buy cars for private use and they are mainly the short distanced drivers. People normally drive 15 to 20 Kms everyday. Therefore, petrol cars are really efficient and good option for that, says, Sajan Maharjan, Sales Manager at GO Ford. He further adds that diesel cars are less in demand in Nepal adding that only car rental companies use diesel cars.

 

Customers’ Preference

“The sales of smaller and spacious cars is gaining much popularity among the customers as the streets of Kathmandu are narrow, smaller cars are convenient to park and easier to drive in narrow roads”, says Maharjan. Smaller cars are selected by the customers as they are cheaper than other SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) or Sedan Cars. The price of smaller platform cars starts from Rs15.5 million. In Nepal, the sales of small cars like Eon, Santro, Swift, i10, i20, Grand i10, Alto are high as these are suitable cars for family and offer comfort along with some smart features. One of the causes behind their high preference is that they are Indian cars and due to this their maintenance cost becomes easy and the spare parts are easily available.  “While buying car the things which customers search for is that whether the car offers updated feature or not, how much fuel efficient it is, itsresale value, looks, good quality and cheap price”, says, Dipesh Man Shakya, Deputy Manager at Laxmi Inter Continental  Pvt.Ltd.

 

Street Problems

 Driving a luxurious car is a tough challenge as streets of Kathmandu are battered and full of pot holes. Similarly, the problem of traffic congestion does not allow smooth driving of vehicle.Therefore, in this context choosing smaller platform cars are, lot more advantageous as they have particularly high level of ground clearance which will have less contact with the road and provide a comfortable drive. Smaller cars are also more fuel efficient as they give high mileage compared to other luxurious cars.

 

A high maintenance cost is required for the costly luxurious car as their parts and accessories are comparatively more costly than the simple smaller cars. Even fixing a small dent or a scratch in luxurious vehicles would simply mean to pour out more money. Although the main roads of Kathmandu have been expanded and still in process, the sub roads and inner streets are still smaller and this is just ideal for the smaller cars.

 

It is also said that more CC engine in a car leads to more fuel consumption. Smaller and cheaper cars come with a less CC engine as compared to the other luxurious cars like SUVs. The smaller and cheaper cars like Maruti comes with an 800 CC engine, Santro comes with a 1000 CC engine, Hyundai i10 comes with an 1100 CC engine and Hyundai i20 Comes with a 1200 CC engine. This fact regarding the car’s engine CC also plays an eminent role in fuel consumption and indicates the variation in its fuel mileage. 

 

Car Selection

People specifically in Kathmandu opt for these smaller cars which will offer good mileage with great built-in features. These features include safety features like inbuilt security alarm, air bag safety system, power steering system for a smoother vehicular control to an overall entertainment features like great powerful music speakers with a built-in Bluetooth system attached within the steering wheel itself. This even shows that in today’s context smaller car industries are being more competitive in terms of providing their customers with the best detailed features in their car and available at an affordable price budget.