Chinese car brand hit by illegal billboard crackdown in South Africa

The Chinese company Changan is the latest car brand to be affected by Johannesburg’s ongoing campaign to crack down on illegal billboard advertisements scattered around the metro.

On Friday, 11 September 2026, the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) took down a Changan billboard, stating that it targeted a “repeat offender who has continued to erect illegal advertising structures despite previous enforcement action.”

Illegal advertising companies have been running rampant across the province, erecting billboards without payment or regulatory approval, often obstructing building views or posing a fire hazard.

Changan is not the only company in the auto industry that has been affected, as similar banners have been removed this year featuring everything from Engen and WeBuyCars to Jeep, Geely, Chery, iCAUR, and GWM.

The crackdown, officially dubbed the “No to Illegal Outdoor Advertising” campaign, has been running since the beginning of the year.

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

Last week, JPC CEO Musah Makhunga said teams had dismantled multiple billboards that didn’t comply with outdoor advertising by-laws or emergency management services compliance standards.

In 2020, the City of Johannesburg said that illegal advertising signs tarnished its reputation and violated local by-laws.

The City initially engaged with brand owners, media companies, and advertising agencies to explain the process for obtaining outdoor advertising approval.

It later began to issue civil claims and charges against the advertising companies.

However, these earlier efforts yielded no results, prompting the City to take more extreme measures starting in December 2025.

Over the last nine months, it has dismantled several banners with ads from prominent companies, including major car brands. Joburg has also disconnected illegally connected billboards from the City Power grid.

“The City’s crackdown on illegal outdoor advertising has cast a spotlight on major companies and well-known brands,” it said in February 2026.

Car brands commonly featured on illegal billboards

Carmakers are some of the most commonly featured brands on these illegal billboards; however, in most cases, the adverts are not placed by the companies themselves.

Vehicle manufacturers and other businesses typically outsource their advertising to third parties. The City of Johannesburg previously revealed that organised criminal networks are behind many of these placements.

These criminals routinely forge permits and resort to bribes and intimidation tactics to erect the billboards.

Because of this, it is often unclear whether the brands featured on the ads are even aware of their existence.

However, while the companies are usually not responsible for the illegal ads, they are the ones that receive the bad publicity when a banner ad is torn down and shared on social media.

This is a deliberate tactic, mind you, as the JPC names and shames the companies featured in the ads to enforce compliance, sharing each takedown on its public platforms.

Makhunga previously stated that the more aggressive tactics have produced good results, as compliance has increased following the start of the campaign.

He revealed that the City of Johannesburg’s outdoor advertising revenue has increased from R4 million to R100 million since it began tearing down billboards.

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

He explained that they have met with several media owners who have come forward to declare their structures and begin settling outstanding payments.

“They are also committing to comply with municipal by-laws when erecting outdoor advertising billboards,” said Makhunga.

He added that the City will continue to crack down on these companies to ensure that all outdoor ads comply with municipal regulations.

“This increase reflects ongoing efforts to ensure adherence to the City’s Outdoor Advertising By-Laws and improve revenue collection.”

Automotive brands affected by Joburg’s billboard crackdown