The minimum salary you need to buy the most affordable electric car in South Africa

South Africans must earn a gross salary of around R60,000 per month to afford the BYD Dolphin, the country’s most affordable electric vehicle (EV).

BYD launched the Dolphin, its second model to launch in South Africa, in May 2024. It stripped the GWM Ora 03 of the title of the most affordable EV in South Africa.

The BYD Dolphin is a hatchback that seats up to five people. It is available in two specifications — Standard and Extended — which vary based on the electric motor’s output and the battery pack’s capacity.

The Standard model is priced at R539,900 and features a 70kW/180Nm motor and a 44.9kWh battery pack. BYD says the Dolphin Standard can travel up to 340km on a single charge.

It supports DC fast charging speeds up to 60kW, which can fully charge the battery in under an hour. The charging rate maxes out at 7.4kW when charging with an AC charger.

The Extended model costs R599,900 and features a much more powerful 150kW/310Nm motor, which can propel it from 0 to 100km/h in seven seconds.

It has a larger 60.5kWh battery pack, providing up to 427km of range on a single charge.

The higher-specced vehicle supports fast DC charging up to 80kW, enabling similar charging times to the Standard model despite its larger battery pack.

Tech fans will be pleased to find abundant tech features fitted into a more minimalistic design to the Dolphin’s big brother, the Atto 3.

However, it retains the Atto 3’s big interior party piece — a rotatable 12.8-inch centre display.

Despite the BYD Dolphin being the most affordable EV in the country, motorists interested in financing one must earn a gross salary of around R59,900, according to asset-based finance provider Wesbank.

Wesbank’s website provides a vehicle financing calculator that allows motorists to calculate estimated repayments based on a vehicle’s value.

We used the following finance formula to determine the cost of financing a BYD Dolphin Standard and BYD Dolphin Extended:

• Car price – R539,900 (Standard) | R599,900 (Extended)
• Payment term – 60 terms (5 years)
• Interest – 11.50%
• Deposit – 0%
• Balloon – No balloon payment
• Extras – No optional extras

According to this, you’ll need to pay at least R11,970 per month to finance the BYD Dolphin Standard over 60 terms and around R13,300 monthly for the Extended-range model.

Customers will pay nearly R173,000 in interest over the financing period for the Standard model and R192,100 for the Extended model through this financing structure.

If you adhere to Wesbank’s general rule that you should not spend more than 20% of your gross monthly salary on vehicle repayments, then you’ll need to earn a gross salary of roughly R59,900 per month to afford the base BYD Dolphin.

Those interested in the Extended-range model must earn a gross monthly salary of R66,440 to afford the monthly premiums for the vehicle.

Images of the BYD Dolphin are included below. You can click on the images to enlarge them.