It will face much competition in the local market, where online companies such as WeBuyCars and AutoTrader have been making big inroads into what was once a market traditionally held mainly by physical car dealerships.
Stellantis, hard on the heels of a massive investment plan in the Eastern Cape, has announced that it will through its AUTO24.africa platform, also begin making further inroads into South Africa’s used car market.
AUTO24.africa said this week it plans to enter four new African markets: Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa.
The expansion, according to the company, positions the platform to become the continent’s number one multi-brand retailer for used cars.
But it will face much competition in the local market, where online companies such as WeBuyCars and AutoTrader have been making big inroads into what was once a market traditionally held mainly by physical car dealerships.
For instance, WeBuyCars, which is owned by JSE-listed Transaction Capital, has plans to capture some 20% of SA’s annual used car market within five years, AutoTrader South Africa, which claims on its website to be South Africa’s leading online motor vehicle marketplace, is ultimately owned by Naspers’ Europe-based subsidiary Prosus.
AUTO24.africa is a subsidiary of Africar Group, in which Stellantis has a controlling stake. Weeks ago, Stellantis announced it would invest up to R3 billion on a new manufacturing plant in South Africa, with an ambition to sell one million vehicles in the Middle East and Africa by 2030, with 70% regional production autonomy.
Stellantis’ brands that it assembles internationally include Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep®, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall.
Its South African plant will entail assembling completed knocked down kits in the Special Economic Zone in Coega situated near Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape.
The first launch planned early in 2026 is a one ton pick-up truck, with volumes expected to reach up to 50 000 units annually, including exports.
And, in yet another signal of its intent to strengthen its foothold in the South African market, Stellantis Middle East & Africa days ago announced a series of high-level appointments to its South African unit, including that of Mike Whitfield as the new managing director.
Whitfield, who most recently was Nissan’s group advisor for strategy, policy and external affairs after a number of years as managing director of Nissan Africa, is well known in the South African motor industry.
He played a major role in the leadership of the South African automotive industry, and in the development of a Pan-African automotive industry through both the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) and the African Association of automotive Manufacturers (AAAM).
He is a past president of Naamsa and is currently in his second term as president of the AAAM.
Stellantis also announced the appointment of Pravin Harinarayan as sales director - Harinarayan was formerly MAN Truck and Bus South Africa’s head of sales since 2017.
Meanwhile, Hassan Salie, the head of sales and network development at Audi Africa since 2010, was appointed after sales director at Stellantis South Africa.
AUTO24.africa said its expansion into four African countries had followed “a remarkably successful first year in Ivory Coast”.
It said it aimed to revolutionise the African automotive sector with “first-of-its-kind customer offerings”.
AUTO24.africa services currently include a five-day refund policy, a six-month warranty, one-year maintenance, and one-year insurance plans for all vehicles. The platform also provides financing options in association with several partners.
“These benefits are a first in many African countries and redefine the standard for car ownership across the continent,” the group said.
Africar Group, the parent company of AUTO24.africa, had been a pioneer in online automotive classifieds in Sub-Saharan Africa, since its founding in Australia in 2016.
Africar Group claims to be able to access an online opportunity of some 1 billion people in West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa, through the centrally servicing more than 45 online platforms.
BUSINESS REPORT