Faan van der Walt is the founder and executive director of WeBuyCars, a company that is transforming the way that South Africans privately sell and buy cars in the motor trade industry.

WeBuyCars aims to help private individuals safely sell their vehicles and providing clients with a wide range of affordable, high quality used vehicles.

As a director, van der Walt’s focus is on developing and maintaining a unique business culture and philosophy where the needs of their customers come first.

In this episode of Business Talk, van der Walt talks through how the Covid pandemic has impacted day-to-day business at WeBuyCars, and the challenges of being a leader during such a difficult time.

He discusses some of the buying/selling trends brought on by the pandemic, and some of the mistakes vehicle buyers make in South Africa.

As the company celebrates its 20-year anniversary this year, he tells Michael Avery about maintaining the underdog mentality – a sense of ‘fighting the big guys’ while continuing to grow. “It’s been a nice journey, but it’s not the end, we still have lots of plans for the future.”

Transaction Capital recently concluded agreements to increase its shareholding in WeBuyCars to 74.9%, a deal that van der Walt believes is a ‘win-win’ for both parties. “We’ve got great plans, we are going to do great things together.”

WeBuyCars extends beyond buying and selling secondhand vehicles, with a range of services, including financing, insurance, and tracking. The group recently launched a first for the South African motor market: an online car auction, which van der Walt is excited about.