The salary you need to afford South Africa’s new most powerful bakkie

Motoring enthusiasts will need to earn a hefty R104,830 per month in order to afford South Africa’s new most powerful bakkie on a finance plan, according to a calculation by TopAuto.

This title belongs to the new BYD Shark, which made its official debut this month with a single specification retailing for R959,900.

The Shark’s biggest selling point is its plug-in hybrid powertrain, which combines a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with two electric motors.

The setup generates an impressive 321kW and 650Nm, letting the double cab sprint to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds.

The intense output isn’t the only benefit, either, as the BYD features a 29.59kWh battery that can run the e-motors for 85km without using any fuel.

As a result, the company claims the bakkie has a combined fuel consumption of just 2.0l/100km, assuming you make frequent use of the electric drive mode, though this drops to 9.6l/100km when relying on just the petrol plant.

The Shark also supports vehicle-to-load charging, allowing owners to tap into the battery to power appliances when out and about.

Standard equipment includes 18-inch alloy wheels, automatic LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers, roof rails, keyless entry and start, dual-zone climate control, artificial leather upholstery, electric front seats with heating and ventilation, a 12-speaker Dynaudio stereo, a 50W wireless phone charger, a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, a heads-up display, and a rotating 15.6-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

It also comes with an assistance suite comprising intelligent cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning and prevention, emergency lane-keep assist, front and rear cross-traffic alert with braking, front and rear collision warning, traffic sign recognition, blind-spot detection, 360-degree cameras, and all-round parking sensors.

What you need to earn

We can use the following formula to work out the monthly payments on the new BYD:

• Car price – R959,900
• Payment term – 60 terms (5 years)
• Interest – 11.00%
• Deposit – 0%
• Balloon – No balloon payment
• Extras – No optional extras

According to this, you’ll need to pay at least R20,966 per month to take home the hybrid bakkie.

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

This means you’ll need to earn a staggering R104,830 per month to afford the new Shark on a finance plan in South Africa.

Note that this figure does not account for insurance, fuel, and maintenance, which must all be factored into your budget.