Joburg cracks down on WeBuyCars, Geely, Jeep, Engen, Chery, iCAUR, and GWM

The City of Johannesburg is ramping up efforts to remove illegal billboards across the metro, affecting several major car brands.

The campaign, called “No to illegal outdoor advertising,” is part of a broader Johannesburg bylaw enforcement drive.

It aims to crack down on illegally erected billboards, a practice that has been going on for decades.

The removals, led by City manager Floyd Brink, are being conducted by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department in partnership with the Joburg Property Company (JPC) and City Power.

“We are taking a firm stand against illegal outdoor advertising in a bylaw enforcement operation to remove unauthorised billboards and restore the rule of law,” said Brink.

The crackdown on illegal outdoor advertising began a decade ago. At the time, the City targeted offenders, including large companies and media owners, by instituting civil claims and laying charges against them.

However, this approach proved ineffective and failed to prevent companies from erecting billboards without approval.

In December 2025, Brink and the JMPD ramped up their efforts by dismantling unauthorised structures and posting photos and videos of the offending adverts.

Musah Makhunga, the CEO of the JPC, said that the more aggressive approach has produced good results.

Before the latest intervention, outdoor advertising only contributed around R4 million annually to the City of Johannesburg. The crackdown has led to a swift change in behaviour.

“When we started this operation, many media owners came forward to engage with the city and enter into formal agreements,” Makhunga said.

“We started from a base of about R4 million per annum, and we are now reaching close to R100 million.”

“This demonstrates that there was significant revenue leakage within the outdoor advertising portfolio, money that rightfully belongs to the city.”

He promised to intensify enforcement operations across Joburg, as there are still areas where illegal billboards are rampant.

Illegal outdoor advertising is a serious crime, which the City views in the same light as building hijackings.

Car brands hit by the crackdown

Car manufacturers are some of the most commonly featured brands that appear on these illegal billboards.

In most cases, the adverts are not erected by the companies themselves. The city’s Executive Director for Development Planning, Eric Raboshakga, said that this is not the work of isolated rogue players.

In fact, the City has uncovered evidence of organised networks that forge permits and resort to bribery and intimidation tactics to erect these billboards.

It is often unclear whether the brands featured on these billboards are even aware of their existence. Companies typically outsource their outdoor advertising to specialists.

Even so, the brands bear the brunt of the bad publicity associated with illegally placed adverts. The JPC names and shames the brands featured in the ads it takes down.

Some of the carmakers that were highlighted by the recent crackdown include Jeep, Geely, Chery, iCAUR, and GWM.

In one recent post, the JPC stated that “a large outdoor advertisement for GWM’s Tank vehicle range is displayed on a structure that is non-compliant.”

Other motor industry-adjacent companies, such as WeBuyCars and Engen, have also been affected.

“Illegal outdoor advertising structures carrying WeBuyCars advertising are coming down,” the JPC said in one post.

The following photos show the crackdown on illegal outdoor advertising in the City of Johannesburg.

City of Johannesburg removing illegal advertising