Consumer controversies

WeBuyCars Clears the Air on New Car Sales Rumours

Published

3 months ago

July 10, 2025

Chiraag

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Despite the buzz, South Africa’s biggest used-car powerhouse is staying in its lane, for now.

South Africans love a good car-related rumour, and the latest one had tongues wagging across the motoring world: is WeBuyCars gearing up to sell new vehicles?

Turns out, not quite.

At a recent media event, speculation sparked when a journalist asked if the company would ever close the loop, since so many people sell their cars to WeBuyCars and then go elsewhere to buy new ones. The response? A firm but friendly maybe.

“We’ve given it little thought,” said Rikus Blomerus, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer. “It’s not something we’ve decided on, and we’ve certainly not mapped out a new business model.”

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No U-turn Ahead; Just Steady Acceleration

Instead of jumping into the new-car market, WeBuyCars is doubling down on what it does best: second-hand wheels, sold at scale. With over 15,000 used vehicles sold monthly and a footprint that stretches across 17 car supermarkets and 93 buying pods, the company is already a major force in South Africa’s auto sector.

“We believe there’s still a lot of room to grow in the used-car space,” said Blomerus. “That’s what we know, and we’ll keep playing to our strengths.”

And those strengths are significant. Since listing on the JSE, the company has grown revenue to R13.1 billion in just six months, boosted by a 26.4% rise in core headline earnings. The scale is staggering, from a single lot in Pretoria in 2001 to a business moving 15,000 vehicles a month in 2025.

Where the Speculation Came From

The rumours didn’t come out of nowhere. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have approached WeBuyCars directly in recent months. They’re interested in partnerships, perhaps exploring whether the car supermarket model could serve as a new retail channel for brand-new vehicles.

Blomerus acknowledged these conversations but was clear: any future move would be strictly complementary, not a shift away from the current model.

“It would only be an add-on,” he said. “Maybe it’s advertising OEM cars or letting them display a model on-site. But right now, we’re not looking to become a new car dealership.”

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Image 1: Daily Maverick

Supermarkets, Not Showrooms

From Rustenburg to Riverhorse Valley, the company’s focus is crystal clear: build bigger spaces to move more used cars more efficiently. In the last year alone, WeBuyCars has:

Added 10 new buying pods
Opened its first North West supermarket in Rustenburg
Relocated and expanded facilities in Pietermaritzburg, Polokwane, and Gqeberha
Grown supermarket capacity in Johannesburg South and Cape Town

Coming up? New mega-facilities in Vereeniging, Lansdowne, and Pretoria North, with some holding up to 1,300 vehicles each.

The goal? 23,000 vehicle sales per month by 2028.

What South Africans Think

Online, reaction to the new car speculation has been mixed. Some users on X (formerly Twitter) praised WeBuyCars for “staying in their lane and dominating it,” while others joked that “it’s only a matter of time before they sell bakkies still in the plastic.”

A few savvy consumers raised a good point: if OEMs trust WeBuyCars’ reach and speed, wouldn’t it make sense to partner for strategic visibility rather than reinvent the dealership model?

A South African Success Story

WeBuyCars has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Founded in 2001 by brothers Dirk and Faan van der Walt, the company started in a small Pretoria yard and slowly scaled up, investing every cent back into the business. For the first decade, they didn’t even draw salaries.

Their bet paid off. With a growing team of over 2,800 employees, a booming digital platform, and plans for national expansion well underway, WeBuyCars has cemented its place as a proudly South African brand built on hustle, trust, and consistency.

No New Cars… Yet

So, will you be able to buy a shiny new car at WeBuyCars in the near future?

Probably not, at least not in the traditional way. The company is keeping the door ajar for OEM collaborations but isn’t steering away from its core offering.

And really, why would it? With a customer base that trusts its quick turnarounds, fair prices, and no-nonsense service, WeBuyCars is already winning, and it’s doing so on its own terms.