WeBuyCars Goes Full Throttle with AI as Blue and Orange Shift Operations Into High Gear

Two AI tools are quietly reshaping how South Africa’s biggest used car dealer buys cars, sets prices, and helps customers and most people don’t even know it.

Walk into a WeBuyCars showroom today, and there’s a good chance the car you’re looking at wasn’t priced by a person. Instead, it may have been evaluated, bought, and listed with zero human involvement — all thanks to a behind-the-scenes AI brain called Blue.

And if you head over to their website, you might just be chatting with Orange, an AI-powered assistant that’s trained to help you find what you’re looking for, fast.

These are the latest digital engines driving WeBuyCars’ operations, and the company believes they could be central to its next wave of growth in South Africa.

Meet Blue and Orange

The AI duo has been rolled out by the JSE-listed used car platform to transform both the customer-facing and backend sides of its business.

“Orange is the customer-facing one,” explains Wynand Beukes, Chief Digital Officer at WeBuyCars. “It’s a large language model, the kind of thing that powers chatbot-style interactions, and it’s already live on our site.”

Behind the scenes, Blue is doing the heavy lifting. It’s a machine-learning system that draws on proprietary data and dynamic pricing models, constantly updated with everything from market trends to the company’s own sales history.

Blue is so confident in its ability to predict pricing that it has already bought more than 2 800 cars on its own — no human pricing involved. “We’re scaling that up as we go,” says Beukes.

A Uniquely South African Advantage

One reason WeBuyCars has been able to leap ahead in AI adoption? It wasn’t weighed down by legacy systems when it launched.

“When we started, there was nothing,” Beukes says. “We were in control of our software and our data. That gave us the freedom to experiment and build tools that work for our market.”

In a country where second-hand car sales are often still done face-to-face or over WhatsApp, WeBuyCars has managed to bridge the gap between tech and trust. With 17 massive vehicle supermarkets and around 100 buying pods across SA, they blend digital efficiency with physical presence.

Humans Still Matter Especially for the Weird Stuff

AI may be fast, but it’s not a petrolhead.

Take something like a Polo Vivo — the data on that is rich, predictable, and perfect for an algorithm to crunch. But what about a 1974 Mercedes-Benz? Or a rare grey-import sports car?

“These are what we call fringe cases,” says Beukes. “That’s where the human still has a job to do. There’s understanding required — sometimes even passion.”

Instead of trying to replace humans entirely, the company uses AI to free up time so staff can focus on the complicated stuff.

“If we can automate a certain percentage of our buy-lead management, we can process far more leads without needing to hire more people. It’s about scale without compromise,” he explains.

Fast Fails, Fast Learnings

WeBuyCars also runs an internal testing platform that lets it try out new AI-driven features on small segments of the market. This allows them to gather feedback quickly and either refine or scrap ideas without wasting time or money.

It’s a startup mindset, embedded in a big business.

Public Reaction: Cautious Optimism

While the rollout hasn’t been accompanied by a massive public campaign, early feedback on social media has been mixed — from curiosity about AI buying your car without a person involved, to some unease about losing the “personal touch.”

“Hope they don’t price my bakkie like a toaster,” joked one Facebook user. Another asked, “Will the AI haggle like my uncle does?”

But there’s also a sense of excitement among local tech watchers. “Love to see SA companies innovating in this space,” one X (formerly Twitter) user posted. “This is what digital transformation is supposed to look like.”

A Sign of Things to Come

With AI-driven tools like Blue and Orange already embedded into the business, WeBuyCars is doubling down on its bet that smart software will fuel smarter growth.

In a country where buying and selling cars is often emotional, fast-moving, and data-poor, WeBuyCars may have found a formula that blends South African market nuances with cutting-edge automation.

As Beukes puts it, “When you understand your own data, and you own your tech stack, the road ahead opens up.”

Source:Tech Central 

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