Own the battery shop your town keeps sending people to.
Global Batteries Xpress is a specialist 12V vehicle-battery franchise. We sell, test and fit vehicle batteries while the customer waits — and nothing else. One profitable flagship in Alberton, a national network being built behind it, and room for the operators who get in early.
Indicative turnkey investment for an entry-format store, excluding VAT, current at August 2026. What your store costs depends on the format, the site and the landlord's tenant installation. Binding figures come in the Disclosure Document.
Find your battery
Which battery does your car take?
Read the code off the top or side of your current battery — three digits, sometimes with letters after them, like 628 or 646.
Looking for a battery, not a franchise? You are in the right place. Find your nearest store for prices, hours and directions, or see the Novax® range.
The uncomfortable part first
Most people who read this page should not apply.
A Global Batteries Xpress franchise is a hands-on, full-time, owner-operated retail and workshop business with a ten-year horizon. It is not a passive investment, it is not a side-hustle, and it is not a quick route to an income while somebody else runs it. Our best franchisees have real business experience, capital they can deploy without putting their family at risk, and a willingness to be on the workshop floor in year one.
Apply if this is you
- You have run a business, a team or a real profit and loss account.
- You can deploy substantial unencumbered own capital without risking your home.
- You will be in the store, full-time, in year one — 80% of trading hours.
- You know your town's mechanics, panelbeaters, taxi associations and fleets.
- You are coachable, and comfortable running someone else's playbook.
- You are working to a ten-year horizon, not a two-year one.
Please do not apply if
- Treating the store as a side investment with a manager running it.
- Wanting to sell competing brands, or to run a parallel auto-parts business under the same roof.
- Negotiating the Operations Manual or the brand standards before signing.
- Only being able to demonstrate “access to” funds, or promises of family backing.
- Not being able to say why batteries, specifically, suit your town.
The proposition
One category, done properly.
Four things separate a GBX store from the battery shop down the road. All four are conditions of the franchise, not aspirations.
Specialist
12V vehicle batteries. Not tyres, not parts, not solar. Depth, not breadth.
Modern
Bright branded retail, the battery test demonstrated at the counter, a clean fitment bay and clear pricing.
Expert
A trained technician on site every trading day, and a free professional test before every sale.
Local
Owner-operators who know their town's mechanics, panelbeaters, taxi associations and motoring clubs.
The proving ground
Alberton is already trading.
The flagship store at 6 Voortrekker Street, New Redruth has been running the model we are now franchising — free testing on every visit, a written quote before any work, fitment while the customer waits, and the old battery taken away for recycling.
Here is what it actually did. Not a projection — what the till recorded.
Actual historical results of the franchisor-owned Alberton store — not a projection, forecast or guarantee of any franchise outlet's performance. Source: POS Sales-by-Item report, net of credit notes, excluding VAT. Period: 1 May 2025 to 29 June 2026.
The hero product
Novax Premium is why the customer chooses you.
Novax Premium carries a 26-month standard warranty — our longest standard warranty, and the longest we have found in its price band.
Novax is our own brand. We control it from the factory to your shelf — we forecast, order, ship, warehouse in Alberton and replenish your store. There is no third-party brand owner taking a cut of your margin or owning the customer relationship.
Four formats
One brand, sized to your town.
A main-road store in a town of 40 000 and a regional hub on a national route are not the same business. Each format maps to a footprint, a fitment capacity and a capital appetite.
| Format | Where it belongs | Floor area | Fitment | Staff at opening |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xpress Entry format | Suburban infill or small-town arterial. | 60 – 90 m² | 1 fitment bay | 3 – 4, including the owner-operator |
| Xpress Store Lift-equipped entry | Suburban high street on a through road. | 90 – 120 m² | 1 fitment bay | 4 – 5 |
| Xpress Plus Mid format | Suburban hub or secondary town on a busy arterial. | 120 – 180 m² | 2 fitment bays | 5 – 7 |
| Xpress Flagship Destination format | High-traffic regional hub. | 200 – 280 m² | 3 – 4 fitment bays plus mobile fitment | 7 – 9 |
Before you go any further
Your rights when anyone sells you a franchise in South Africa
These are not our concessions. They are your statutory rights under the Consumer Protection Act, and you should hold every franchisor you talk to — including us — to them.
Take advice. We would rather you took independent legal and financial advice before you sign, and spoke to existing franchisees, than that you did not.
Nothing on this website is an offer, a projection, a forecast or a guarantee of the performance of any outlet. No statement made here may be relied upon unless it is repeated in the Disclosure Document or in the Franchise Agreement itself.
If you are the right operator, we would like to hear from you.
Applications get a decision within 5 business days. Tell us your town, your experience and what you can deploy — we will tell you straight whether there is a fit and whether the territory is open.