About Cars.co.za - Our Vision, Values and Culture

Our story:

From zero to Hero in 10 Years

Cars.co.za grew quickly from a start-up company founded in Johannesburg in 2009, to become South Africa’s leading automotive platform, and one of the most respected, recognisable brands in the automotive market. Cars.co.za offers more vehicle listings, greater reach, and the biggest social media following (across all platforms) of any motoring classifieds or media brand in South Africa. We achieved this as bootstrapped business with a purposefully small, dedicated team that shares a vision of empowering consumers and transforming the local motor industry for the better.

Keen to learn more about our business? Watch our videos / podcast interviews below:

Bold. Ambitious. Passionate

We value honesty

We are honest with ourselves, with our team and with our customers. We have to make difficult decisions at times, but we never compromise on our integrity.

We value our startup culture

We aspire to move quickly, stay quirky and keep dreaming. We continue to fight bureaucracy and to keep our startup spirit alive.

We value ambition

We have always had ridiculously ambitious goals. We aren’t afraid of a huge challenge.

We value innovation

We believe there are opportunities to innovate every day. We aim to be constructively critical and progressive in our thinking, to challenge the status quo and to not get stuck in our ways.

We value hard work

We believe there is no substitute for hard work. We aspire to get things done and are willing to put in the necessary effort to do so.

We value teamwork

We believe in synergy. We trust in our peers, and in turn take responsibility for ourselves. To reach our ambitious goals, we simply have to pull together and the celebrations are also all the sweeter when they are shared.

We value ownership

We take ownership of situations and take initiative to get things done. We don’t focus on others, make excuses or shirk responsibility. We own our personal targets, our team targets, our actions and our shortfalls. We don’t shy away from difficult situations.

We value our community

We are a proudly South African business. We aim to positively impact our local communities, country and environment and aspire to build this into the very DNA of our business.

The Tech (and fun)

at the heart of Cars.co.za

We pride ourselves on being a tech company, first and foremost. Online search has assumed an ever-increasing role in buying behaviour in the past decade, bridging the gap between buyers and retailers. Our rapid growth in this environment is attributed to implementing tech early and effectively in what was a conservative vehicle retail market, as well as investing in measures that helped us to gain optimal online visibility from an early stage.

Technology and automation will continue to play an increasing role in the vehicle retail business and we are committed to being at the forefront of tech innovation in the motor industry. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun as well!

Cars.co.za

❤ Cars️

We love being part of the vibrant South African motor industry. While you don’t have to be a petrolhead to work here, you might very well become one! We even have our own car collection of uniquely South African icons and a dedicated brand for the more passionate car lovers. Called SentiMETAL, it hosts regular Cars & Coffee themed “Gatherings” and has its own online presence, offering not only world-class video content, but also an online store selling automotive-themed items.

Welcome to our home

We maintain a start-up culture and celebrate our employees, who work in a youthful and creative environment. We offer staff members the flexibility to achieve their professional goals and strive for an ideal work-life balance.

Our head office, in Bedfordview, is home to the majority of our 50+ employees, and has a vibrant feel. We even have an in-house barista and are preparing for the future of mobility, with the installation of our first electric-vehicle charge station in 2020.

We also have an office in Cape Town, predominantly for our creative/content team and we have recently started offering recruits in certain positions the option of working from the Mother City.

Our country. Our planet.

As a business we believe we are in a position to make a difference, positively impact the communities we live in, and leave the world a better place for future generations. This is why we have our eco and social endeavours and why the company is committed to investing at least 1% of its annual turnover into “Do Good” projects. We encourage our staff to roll up their sleeves and become active, positively contributing citizens.

About Cars.co.za – Our vision, values and culture