Features / 18 December 2024 / Michael Taylor

The salary you need to afford the cheapest and most expensive cars in South Africa

Motorists will need to earn anywhere from R20,000 per month up to a staggering R1.4 million per month to afford the cheapest and most expensive cars in South Africa, were you to buy either one on a finance plan.

The local market has an incredible amount of variety with an estimated 1,400 different models to choose from across 49 individual brands.

On the one end of the spectrum, we have the R178,900 Suzuki S-Presso, South Africa’s most affordable car and one of the last names to still cost less than R200,000.

On the opposite extreme, there’s the Lamborghini Revuelto which asks customers to part with an enormous R12,800,000 before extras are taken into the equation – and you can be sure there will be many of them.

The representative for affordable transport is powered by a 1.0-litre, naturally-aspirated petrol engine, which has a modest output of 49kW and 89Nm and connects to a five-speed manual gearbox.

Anyone lucky enough to get behind the wheel of the Lambo, meanwhile, can take advantage of a 6.5-litre V12 powerplant with additional assistance from three electric motors.

The result is that the supercar can produce 747kW and 725Nm, letting it sprint to 100km/h in just 2.5 seconds.

The hybrid underpinnings also mean that the Revuelto can travel short distances of 16km on nothing but electricity thanks to a 3.8kWh battery.

The equipment differences for both cars are just as stark, as the Suzuki offers things like manual air conditioning, electric windows, rear parking sensors, and two speakers, though a radio is an optional extra.

The Lamborghini is a little more upmarket, as it comes with 22-inch alloy wheels, a 12.3-inch digital driver display, an 8.4-inch infotainment screen, a 9.1-inch front passenger screen, two-tone leather upholstery, and dual-zone climate control, to name but a few.

What you need to earn

Putting aside the fact that anyone with Lamborghini money to begin with will certainly not be relying on a finance plan, we can use the following formula to work out the hypothetical monthly payments on both cars:

Car price – R178,900 /R12,800,000
Payment term – 60 terms (5 years)
Interest – 11.25%
Deposit – 0%
Balloon – No balloon payment
Extras – No optional extras

According to this, you’ll need to pay at least R4,007 per month for the S-Presso, or up to R279,997 per month for the Revuelto.

Financial experts then recommend that you do not spend more than 20% of your gross monthly salary on vehicle payments.

This means a citizen would need to earn anywhere from R20,035 per month up to an insane R1,399,985 per month to afford the cheapest and most expensive cars in South Africa if relying on finance.

The astronomical figure for the Lamborghini in particular shows just how much the interest rates on car payments can add up when the purchase price of the vehicle is high enough.