WeBuyCars (WBC) purchased The Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg in 2021 for a reported R175 million, and swiftly turned it into the “largest used-vehicle showroom in Africa.”
The used-car retailer transformed the events arena into a massive vehicle showroom capable of accommodating approximately 1,300 cars of all shapes and sizes, and up to 2,000 shoppers per day.
However, it seems that WBC has outgrown its headlining “supermarket” as it recently revealed that it has plans to build one in the Mother City that can fit even more vehicles.
In an interview on Die Groot Ontbyt, WBC Chief Strategy Officer Willem Klopper said that the company has purchased a portion of land in the Lansdowne, Cape Town, which it intends to develop into a showroom that can fit as many as 2,000 vehicles.
“We’ve purchased five hectares [of land] in the Western Cape, in the southern suburbs of Cape Town, where we want to build a big new supermarket that can display at least 800 cars, and go up to 2,000,” said Klopper.
Thus, at maximum capacity, the Lansdowne showroom will be able to house 54% more cars than The Dome.
He admitted that the facility is still “a while away”, but that the contract on the property has already been signed so the onus lies on WBC to decide on when it wants to break ground.
Inside the WBC Dome
More to come
Alongside the new Lansdowne location, WBC intends to increase its market share and expand its geographical footprint even further.
It has set itself ambitious goals of growing its monthly sales volumes to 23,000 units, up from approximately 13,400 today, and doubling its market dominance by 2028.
In this endeavour, the company set up a new supermarket in East London, Eastern Cape, that began trading in June with 300 vehicle bays.
It has also secured a piece of land in Rustenburg, North West, that is earmarked for “future development.”
Furthermore, the used-car powerhouse plans to grow its number of buying pods from 75 to 90 by the end of 2024.
Two pods were recently set up in Heidelberg and Upington, with more to follow in Hermanus, Jeffreys Bay, Newcastle, and Rustenburg over the coming weeks.
Due to its strong financial standing, WBC will be able to fund all of these initiatives from existing banking facilities, it said.
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