South African brothers earning R2.4 million a month selling second-hand cars
The founders of South Africa’s top used-vehicle retailer, WeBuyCars, Faan and Dirk van der Walt, earned a total of R28.7 million in the 2025 financial year—working out to R2.39 million per month.
The group published its annual report this week, detailing the pay packages for its top executives.
WeBuyCars CEO Faan van der Walt saw his earnings rise to R17.3 million in 2025.
The company’s Executive Director, Dirk van der Walt, earned R11.4 million, while CFO Chris Rein earned R11.0 million.
The total compensation for WeBuyCars executive directors comprises their base salary, retirement benefits, the expense of share plan awards, and incentive bonuses.
The company’s CEO received a basic salary of R9,860,000, retirement benefits totalling R1,074,000, Conditional Share Plan (CSP) awards valued at R2,450,000, and an annual incentive bonus amounting to R3,955,000.
The total remuneration for the Executive Director amounts to R11,361,000.
This compensation package consists of a basic salary of R6,528,000, retirement benefits totalling R709,000, CSP awards valued at R1,625,000, and an annual incentive bonus of R2,499,000.
Both the CEO and the executive director voluntarily offered to forfeit a portion of their Short-Term Incentive (STI) and requested that the funds be redirected to other key employees.
This generous decision by the CEO and Executive Director reflects their commitment to fostering a motivated workforce, which contributed to the company’s growth and increased earnings in the 2025 financial year.
In the 2025 financial year, WeBuyCars successfully expanded both its physical supermarkets and digital platforms, leading to a 15% increase in core headline earnings.
This expansion involved building more car supermarkets and enhancing its online technology, which significantly improved the company’s ability to buy and sell vehicles.
As a result of managing a greater volume of cars and operating more efficiently, their main operational profit rose by 15% compared to the previous year.
| Executive | Role | Basic remuneration | Retirement benefits | Annual Incentive Bonus (STI) | CSP awards (LTI) | Total remuneration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASS (Faan) van der Walt | CEO | R9 860 000 | R1 074 000 | R3 955 000 | R2 450 000 | R17 339 000 |
| DJF (Dirk) van der Walt | Executive Director | R6 528 000 | R709 000 | R2 499 000 | R1 625 000 | R11 361 000 |
| CJ (Chris) Rein | CFO | R3 643 000 | R521 000 | R2 595 000 | R4 278 000 | R11 037 000 |
| J Mills | COO | R3 329 000 | R351 000 | R2 359 000 | R4 550 000 | R10 589 000 |
Financial performance
In its results for the year ended 30 September 2025, the group reported an increase in revenue of 13.1% to R26.4 billion.
Buying and selling volumes of 180,576 and 179,006 units were up 7.7% and 8.4%, respectively.
The number of vehicles bought and sold continues to grow, with sales volumes reaching an all-time monthly record of 16,294 units in November 2024.
With monthly sales volumes exceeding 15,000 units in six of the last 12 months, the group has continued to gain market share.
However, the group acknowledged that it experienced market pressure due to structural shifts within the South African automotive industry, particularly related to an influx of Chinese brands.
Coming in at attractive price points, these vehicles have shifted consumer behaviour, bolsterning the new vehicle market.
Nevertheless, WeBuyCars said that this would eventually lead to an expanded used car market further down the line.
WeBuyCars was established in 2001 by brothers Faan and Dirk van der Walt on a smallholding in Pretoria.
In 2010, the company acquired its first warehouse, which could hold 100 cars. After purchasing additional land over the years, they expanded capacity to 700 vehicles.
Eventually, WeBuyCars outgrew the available space in the business park, prompting further expansion.
WeBuyCars has branches spanning across six provinces, currently with seven in Gauteng, two in the Eastern Cape, three in KwaZulu-Natal, four in the Western Cape, one in Limpopo, one in North West, and one in Mpumalanga.
In addition, the company has opened over 100 “buying pods”, which are spread across every province in the country.
The pods are small offices, often located in shopping centre parking lots, that offer in-person evaluations.
This service complements WeBuyCars’ operations, as highlighted in its latest Integrated Annual Report, which shows the company sold 179,000 cars in the 2025 financial year, averaging 15,000 per month.
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