The minimum salary you need to afford the most expensive electric car in South Africa

South African motorists must earn nearly R650,000 a month to afford financing for the most expensive electric vehicle (EV) in the country: the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.

Porsche introduced the Taycan Turbo GT to the South African market in March 2024. Prices for the EV start at R5.88 million, depending on the length of service plan you choose.

The above price is for the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT on a three-year drive plan, while the longer five-year drive plan pushes the price up to R5.98 million.

The performance EV boasts impressive stats, producing up to 760kW using Overboost Power with Launch Control and up to 1,240nm of torque.

This can propel the car from 0 to 100km/h in 2.3 seconds, and the Taycan Turbo GT can reach a top speed of 290km/h.

The EV packs a 105kWh battery pack with a rated capacity of 97kWh. Porsche claims the Taycan Turbo GT can travel up to 554km on a single charge on a WLTP cycle.

Regarding charging, Porsche lists the following times for the Taycan Turbo GT:

• AC charging with 9.6kW: 13 hours
• AC charging with 11kW: 11 hours
• AC charging with 22kW: 6 hours
• DC charging at 120kW: 46 minutes
• DC charging at 150kW: 33 minutes
• DC charging at maximum charging power: 18 minutes

Porsche specifies that the claimed DC charging times are for filling the battery from 10% to 80% capacity.

The Taycan Turbo GT features multiple digital displays with touchscreen controls for features like air conditioning, radio, and seat heating. It also features a digital driving display.

Regarding exterior design, Porsche has added design and performance elements like the Gurney Flap and aeroblades on the front end.

“Detail with a big impact: to optimise aerodynamics, the extended rear spoiler of the Taycan Turbo GT has an additional spoiler lip — the Gurney Flap,” says Porche.

“The aerodynamics are completed by a front spoiler as well as aeroblades at the front end and a front difuser. The result: more control during spirited cornering.”

MyBroadband used Wesbank’s vehicle financing calculator to determine the costs of financing a Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.

We used the following finance formula for the calculations:

• Car price – R5,882,000
• 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 R129,460 per month to finance the Porche Taycan Turbo GT over 60 terms.

Customers will pay nearly R1.9 million in interest over the financing period for the EV 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 R647,000 per month to afford the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.

Below are images of the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT. You can click on the images to enlarge them.