NORTH SOUTH UNIVERSITY

People’s view on efficiency and luxury in terms of buying cars in Dhaka

Syed Tasaddik Bapin

1812860030
ENG105.4

Submitted to
Md. Mehedi Hasan (HMe)
Lecturer,
Department of English & Modern Languages,
North South University

21st January 2021

Abstract

Table of content
Introduction and Background
The view of people in Dhaka city while buying an efficient car rather than a luxury car. Efficient
cars are low priced cars 15-20 lacks, fuel efficient, cost efficient in terms of spare parts,
maintenance cost etc. For example, Aqua, Axio, Prius are one of the most used and encouraged
cars in Dhaka city. A luxury car is especially high-priced vehicles compare to the efficient cars.
They also have high maintenance cost as they consume more fuel. Furthermore, luxury car is
more equipped than an efficient car and also, they have expensive spare parts. These factors
contribute in making decisions whether to buy an efficient car or a luxury car. Efficient cars are
more durable than a luxury car especially for a country like Bangladesh where cars are roughly
used by almost everyone.
In Dhaka, a car has become a necessary mode of transport. Dhaka is a city where lower middle
class, middle class and upper middle-class people live and almost all of them owns a car. When
buying a car, people think about moving from point A to B at the lowest possible expense, but
comfortably. However, people also purchase cars based on their income and expenditure ability.
Therefore, lower middle-class people own cars that are suitable in terms of efficiency and cost,
some middle-class people own luxurious and all upper middle class owns luxurious cars.
Citizens of Dhaka are mostly lower- and middle-class people. Such as when they think of buying
a car, they mainly focus on good millage, low chances of breakdowns and availability of spare
parts. Maintenance of a luxurious car is more expensive than a mid-range car with low cost and
efficiency and as the citizens of Dhaka are mostly lower middle class and middle class, it is out
of their reach to purchase and maintain an expensive luxury car.
Aqua is one of the popular cars in Dhaka nowadays, its hybrid facility has force people to buy it.
It has a fuel economy of 35.4 to 40.0 km/l (Be Forward, 2020). This feature made it unique, its
shape of 5 door hatchback made it suitable of using in Dhaka. According to Toyota Aqua (2021),
it got a maximum power of 74ps, 5 seats and an engine capacity of 1496cc . That makes it cost
cut down in its maintenance base on fuel, other expenses and also taxation.
Lexus has been in the market for a very long time, its SUVs are one of the luxurious cars in
Bangladesh. Lexus Windom a model of 1996 is one of the luxurious cars of its time and now as
well. Its fascinating look forces the user to fall in love with it. According to car specs A-Z
(2020), it’s a 4 seat sedan 6,V cylinder with an engine of 2994cc. It certainly increases the
budget of the user due to its high maintenance and taxation.
Aqua and Lexus have huge difference in their features, starting from their engine capacity and
other features. Tom Harbid stated that Lexus brand is owned by Toyota, Lexus manufactures the
luxurious car whereas Toyota manufactures the standard one (2020). The difference is not that
much it’s just Lexus just produces the luxurious ones as it was made to produce the luxury cars.
The cost matters in case of maintaining them, maintenance of a Toyota is much easier and
affordable compare that of Lexus.
In a blog article published by Luke (2017), stated that fuel is important factor as it reduces the
cost for the user in long-term. One liter save can make a difference it saves money; it saves the
environment. Efficient cars in Dhaka are very much important, as most of the citizens are lower-
middle class and middle-class family. Dhaka city is one of the most populated cities in the world
and traffic is one of the other factors that make a car use more fuel then necessary. In order to
defend this factor people would always choose an efficient car. The daily star (2018, May 13),
published a news article including a statement from World Bank that the average traffic speed of
Dhaka has fall by 14kmph, from 21kmph to 7kmph in the last 10 years. It is also said that by
2035 it will drop to 4kmph (para.1). So, it’s very clear what an amount of fuel is getting wasted
in Dhaka city traffic. The efficient car consumes less fuel compare to the luxury cars. For
example, Lexus consumes more fuel when compare to a Corolla or Axio. As a result, an efficient
car is more cost efficient in terms of income.
Maintaining an efficient car is easier compare to a luxury car in Bangladesh. Babu and Noyon
(2020, June 10) said that in a news article in Business Standard, the tax of a 1500cc car is Tk
15000 and it has been proposed to increase in to Tk 25000 by the next year, a raise of 67%
(para.4). so, it won’t be wrong to say that maintaining an efficient car is better than maintaining a
luxury car. As the cost of the car in terms of maintaining increases as the cc of the car increases,
an efficient car is of 1500cc taxation cost of 15000 and a luxury car with cc of 2000 or more has
higher taxation cost. The purpose why people use a luxury car was explained by Hannah Elliot,
safety, resale value, prestige, coexistent beauty and comfort, interior fit for a king (2009, Feb
27). A luxury car gives everything a feel of royal in its look, the comfort in usage. A luxury car
provides a standard in the society. On the other hand, people use an efficient car to reduce the
overall cost in term of fuel, maintenance and other expenses. An efficient car does not give the
support that a luxury car provides, but in a country like Bangladesh where roads are narrow,
traffic all around the efficient car suits the best. On the basis of fuel, maintenance and taxation
efficient car is more popular than a luxury car. So, citizens of Dhaka would try to keep the
expenses of a can within their hand reach.
In this research work I will address questions to compare and contrast between luxury cars and
efficient cars. I will use the methodology which will bring out expectable answers to my research
question. The data I will gain through this methodology will be analyzed and summarized. From
there I will list out my key findings and compare it with my hypothesis. After analyzing and
viewing all aspects I will conclude the final result.

Research Questions
In my research I want to find out what the people of Dhaka thinks about or how their physiology
is about buying a car.
 What is an efficient car?
 What is a luxurious car?
 What purpose do the efficient car and the luxurious car serve to the user?
 Which type of car is cost efficient in terms of income?
 Which car is easier to maintain luxury or efficient?
 Why is efficiency preferred while selecting cars in Dhaka?
Hypothesis
People in Dhaka would prefer efficiency over luxury vehicles/cars because it would be more cost
friendly. In my research I will be expecting to show that people in Dhaka choose efficiency
while buying car rather than luxury. As most of the citizens are mainly low middle-class people,
they will certainly go for a car that is efficient in terms of fuel, cost and other maintenance
services. It is mostly that people in Bangladesh buys family cars which mainly focuses on
efficiency. I am expecting this as people would always want to consume more with low cost in
order to keep things in their hand reach.

Methodology
For my primary research, I will design a questionnaire to with different types of questions to
prepare a clear and strong data. I will carry out this to some car groups, car owners and car
dealers to get exact knowledge.
For my secondary research, I will browse in the internet to acquire more information about
statistics and physiology of the buyers.

Results and Discussion

The data in this section represents the responses collected through primary research. The data
was collected over a sample of 68 people in different areas of the Dhaka city. These people were
aged between 16-45. Among them 83.8% were between 16-25, 14.7% were 26-35 and 1.5%
were 36-45. The reason behind carrying out this survey was to find out the psychology and the
preferences of people regarding buying an efficient car or a luxury car.

Percentage

Efficient Luxury

Figure A: People’s preferences on efficient and luxury cars.

The above pie chart shows what type of car people prefer to buy, efficient or luxury. 75% people,
that means 51 out of 68 people chose efficient cars over luxury cars and 25% people, 17 of them
selected luxury cars. This is due to the class of people, high percentage of people in Dhaka are
lower middle-class people. This data also represents the type of people who participated in this
survey. In Bikroy.com (2018), it’s given that about 36% of the cars in Bangladesh are cars priced
between 10-20 lacs. Based on the data it can be stated that most of the people would prefer an
efficient car over a luxury car. Hence it supports my hypothesis very clearly.

5.3%
%

Figure B: Purpose of buying an efficient car.

The data in figure B, represents the purpose of buying an efficient car. Among the 68
participants, 38.7% people selected that “It is affordable by many people of Dhaka city due to
low price”. 32% of them chose “Low maintenance cost”, 24% of them opted “Rough use” and
the rest 5.3% took the other options. From the data it is clear that people in Dhaka city would
buy an efficient car as its low priced and can be also be rough used. As many Dhaka city people
live far away from their work places, they do need to use their vehicles of rough use and also
affordable for them. As a result, all these data match my hypothesis.
 1.3%

Figure C: Purpose of buying a luxury car.

The figure C shows the percentage of people buying a luxury car. 42.7% the highest percentage
of people said they would buy a luxury car to maintain their standard. The second highest 40% of
them said they would use it to travel in comfort. 16% and 1.3% respectively said they would buy
a luxury car for well designed interior and other. Around 82.7% people went against my thought
that people would buy a luxury car for well design factor and other. Analyzing the data, we can
say some percentage of people in Dhaka city buys a luxury car to show their class to the society
and some percentage of people buys it, so that they can enjoy their travelling experiences as a
luxury car provides comfort. Hence, it does not help me to support my hypothesis which says
people would buy efficient cars over luxury cars.

3%

Figure D: The monthly expenses of an efficient car

The figure D, is a representation of the monthly expenses of an efficient car in Dhaka. According
to the data it can be stated that the highest number of people, which is 44.1% of the 68
participants chose a monthly expense of 7000-10000 Taka for an efficient car. 29.4% of them
shows less expense of 5000-7000 Taka monthly, the rest 23.5% and 3% indicates a monthly
expense of 10000-15000 Taka and 15000-20000 Taka respectively. The analyzing says most of
the efficient car has a monthly expense between 5000-10000 Taka stated by 73.5% people. This
is because efficient cars are fuel efficient and other factors like, maintaining costs are also less.
As a result, it is very clear that the expenses are affordable, which matches my hypothesis.

7.5%

Figure E: The monthly expenses of a luxury car

The above figure represents the data of monthly expense of a luxury car. The data shows that the
highest number of people 65.2% indicated 15000-20000 Taka is needed in a month for
maintaining the expense of a luxury car. 27.3% of 68 people said that the monthly expense of a
luxury car is about 10000-15000 Taka and 7.5% said they need around 5000-10000 Taka as their
monthly expense to maintain a luxury car. Analyzing the over all data of the monthly expense, its
very clear that maintaining a luxury is really expensive. A luxurious car requires many types of
services as well as its difficult to get such service providers which makes it expense rise. Thus,
after looking at all of these it can be said that matches my hypothesis.
 45

40

35

30

25

20 39
15 29
23
10

5 9
0
0
It Doed Not 2 Times 4 Times 6 Times 8 Times

Figure F: The annual breakdown of an efficient cars.

The figure F shows the annual break down of an efficient car. The highest percentage represents
a breakdown of 2 times annually, the second highest percentage 29% presenting 4 times. The
two lowest percentage 23% and 9% representing it does not break annually and 6 times
respectively and no one chose 8 times. The overall data is showing that its very rare that an
efficient car breaks down as 62% says it’s between 2 times a year. An efficient car is made up in
such a way that it can be roughly used, so there is very less chance to break down annually.
Since 62% of the people said that its rare or less chance of an efficient car to break down, it can
be said that the data is somewhat matching my hypothesis.
 Percentage level
45 42 42
40

35

30

25

20

15 12
10
5
5
0
0
It Does Not 2 Times 4 Times 6 Times 8 Times

Series 1

Figure G: Annual break down of a luxury car.

The above bar chart shows the responses on annual break down of a luxury car over a survey on
68 people. In this data it can be seen that 42% people said a luxury car does not break down
annually and also 42% people said it breaks down twice a year. The two least number 12% and
5% of them said it breaks down 4 times and 6 times a year respectively. Analyzing this data, it
can be said that 84% of them indicates that a luxury car break down is between twice a year. This
is due to the features of a luxury car, they have features like off-road drive, four-wheel feature
and many more. These advantages a luxury car to avoid often breakdown and provide good
services to the user. The data did not go my way as a result, it did not support my hypothesis.
 Figure H: The availability of spare parts for an efficient car.

The figure leveled H, which is a representation of availability of spare parts of an efficient car
based on 68 people sample. Highest number of people 41.2% said the availability of spare part is
excellent and other 41.2% said its very good indicates a very stable and very good condition of
the spare market. The other 17.6% of the people says the availability of spare parts in Dhaka is
good. 42.4% is a good number to show a positive side of an efficient car, it is indicating that
spare parts of an efficient car are available almost everywhere in the city even though 17.6% said
its good. Another reason behind this is the cost of the spare parts of an efficient car is not that
much, so almost every spare parts shop sale them. Hence, it is very clear that the whole data of
spare parts supports and strengthens my hypothesis.

4.4%
 Figure I: The availability of spare parts of luxury cars.
Figure I show the availability spare parts of luxury cars in a pie chart form. Here the highest
number 47.8% people said that the availability is good, the second highest 29.9% said it poor and
17.9% and 4.4% respectively said its very good and excellent. Both the total of very good and
excellent can not even match the percentage of the good option. As a result, it will not be wrong
to say that the spare parts market in Dhaka city is not good in order to maintain a luxury car. This
is for the reason that very less shops keep the spare parts of a luxury car and is very difficult to
find a shop that sales those spare parts and also the genuine ones. Thus, the spare parts data
matches my hypothesis.

Percentage Level
100
91
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
9
10
0
Efficient Luxury

Series 1

Figure J: Preferred cars based on income.

The figure above represents the data of preferred cars based on income of Dhaka city people. A
huge number or the majority people of the 68 participants said they would prefer an efficient car
rather than a luxury car. Whereas only 9% of them said they would prefer a luxury car based on
their income. There is no other reason behind this result as we know that most of the people of
Dhaka city are lower middle-class people. The income of these people is not that high that they
can afford a luxurious car. The data here is a clear picture that its very much on my side to
support my hypothesis.
Summary of the findings
From the survey analysis, it can be concluded that almost all of the survey questions support my
hypothesis. It can be clearly stated that people in Dhaka city would prefer to select an efficient
car for their use. The factors of spare parts, expenses, purposes and income-based selection
everything regarding the choice of a car was on the efficient car side. Even though the sample
size was not that big, there was a clear indication that efficient car won the race. In the analysis
there were things that did not go my side, there could be have been more variation in choice of
the surveyed answer if the sample size was bigger than 68 participants. So, it would not be
wrong to say that my hypothesis was true people in Dhaka city would buy an efficient car over a
luxury car.
In a research from Okulicz-Kozaryn et al. (2015) Luxury car owners are not happier than a frugal
car owner, it is found out that the ownership of a luxury car does not make the user happy
compare to a frugal car owner. This research has made my research and hypothesis stronger, that
people will choose efficient car over luxury car.

Conclusion

APA Referencing