WeBuyCars is on track to reach its goal of selling 23 000 vehicles a month in three years’ time, says CEO Faan van der Walt.

Speaking during a webcast on Monday detailing the JSE-listed company’s financial results for the year ended September 30, he noted that the company had a 5.2% share of the local preowned market in 2021, with this increasing to the current 10.5%.

This means that WeBuyCars currently moves between 15 000 and 16 000 cars a month.

The company’s goal is to buy and sell 23 000 vehicles a month in the 2028 financial year.

In total, the company bought 180 576 vehicles and sold 179 006 vehicles during the financial year under review – increases of 7.7% and 8.4%, respectively.

CFO Chris Rein noted that a spate of new supermarket and buying pod additions should add the parking bays required to reach the 2028 goal, with parking bay capacity to reach more than 17 000 by the end of the 2027 financial year.

Parking bay numbers were already up almost 15% on the prior financial year, at 12 911 parking bays.

WeBuyCars opened new supermarkets in Rustenburg and Vereeniging during the past financial year, while it also expanded capacity at its George, Polokwane, the Dome, Johannesburg south and Mbombela locations, increasing national capacity to 12 911 parking bays.

The company also added 23 new buying pods, bringing the total to 106 nationwide.

On the cards are supermarket openings in Montana (Pretoria) and Lansdowne (Cape Town) before year-end, which will further boost capacity by more than 20%.

WeBuyCars has also secured land in Richards Bay and eMalahleni (Witbank), which will anchor further expansion in 2026.

The company saw a 13.1% increase in revenue for the 2025 financial year, to R26.4-billion, with operating profit up 9.7%, to R1.34-billion.

Employee numbers grew by around 400 people.

Van der Walt said these positive numbers were delivered in a challenging trading environment, particularly in the second half of the year, which was characterised by low economic growth, pressure on consumer affordability, lower levels of consumer confidence and declining bank approval rates.

WeBuyCars also experienced margin pressure resulting from structural shifts within the South African automotive industry, with the strong recovery of the new-vehicle market – especially the rise of competitively priced Chinese brands – heightening competition, particularly in WeBuyCars’ traditional lead price bracket of between R300 000 and R500 000.

To maintain liquidity and ensure healthy inventory churn, the company adjusted the selling prices on vehicles competing within these price brackets, said Van der Walt.

This measure, however, placed short-term pressure on margins during the second half of the year. In response, the company recalibrated its acquisition activities towards more affordable, faster-moving inventory that aligned with current market demand.

Van der Walt noted that the current buoyant new-vehicle market and the growing penetration of Asian brands were expected to have a positive long-term impact for WeBuyCars, as these vehicles would inevitably enter the used-vehicle market in future.

As part of the company’s succession planning, the board has appointed current chief digital officer Dr Wynand Beukes as deputy CEO, effective January 1.

Van der Walt indicated that he could hand over the reins to Beukes in two years.