Certified Sales Gain 3.6% Over January '05

By Jennifer Reed, Online Editor
February 07, 2006

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (Feb. 7, 2006) -- Certified results began the year strong despite a traditional lessening in sales often seen in January. According to Autodata Corp., January's CPO sales came in at 123,779, up 3.6 percent from the same period in 2005.

Looking at market share, Autodata executives noted that domestics gained 6 percent, reaching 51.6 percent. As for Asian brands, they posted a 2-percent uptick, bringing their total to 33.7 percent. And Europeans' share dropped 6 percent, coming in at 14.7 percent.

While sales started the year off with a bang, the majority of automakers posted a decline when compared to December. The only exceptions to this trend included Land Rover, Ford and Lincoln-Mercury. Land Rover sold 567 vehicles, as compared to 442 in the prior month. As for Ford, it sold 14,032, up from 10,508 in December. Lincoln-Mercury sold 2,345, as compared to 2,012.

"This sales volume is a new monthly record, the best CPO month ever since the program launched back in 2001," said Mark Stewart, of Ford's certified pre-owned programs.

On the other side of the coin, some automakers posted slight declines when compared to December.

Starting with Audi, the brand sold 1,757 units for the month, as compared to 1,964 in December.

"January 2006 sales were up modestly over January 2005 at 1.4 percent," said Jo Obloy, national sales manager of certified pre-owned at Audi. "We had a decline from December 2005 of 10.3 percent, primarily due to a lower off-lease supply at this time."

Although many dealers in the Gulf Coast region realized sales increases in late 2005 going into 2006, Obloy said Audi dealers haven't witnesses such an uptick.

Moving on, Lexus posted certified sales of 3,239 for the month, as compared to 3,830 in the prior month.

"January sales were good," said Marv Ingram, of the Lexus sales department. "We are accustomed to having strong December sales, which has a tendency to pull some sales forward. Total CPO sales of 3,239 were up 3.7 percent over January '05."

Lexus executives are currently in the process of analyzing buying habits in the Gulf Coast to see what, if any, impact the hurricanes could have had on market demands.

As for General Motors, overall, the automaker sold 39,491 units, down from 44,372 in December.

In a breakdown by brand, GM Certified Used Vehicles sold 34,493 vehicles, down from 38,850. Cadillac Certified sold 2,943 units, as compared to 3,332 in the prior month. Also, Used Cars from Saturn moved 1,607 units, as compared to 1,632. Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 434 units, as compared to 558.

"Coming off record certified-segment annual sales in 2005, GM Certified Used Vehicles posted solid sales results in January," said Mark LaNeve, General Motors North America vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing. "GM Certified continues to lead all manufacturers in the certified category, and we are optimistic about the prospects for continued growth in 2006."

Paul Pejza, manager of GM Certified Used Vehicles, added, "We recently announced new initiatives for 2006 to help provide greater value to dealers and consumers and to build sales. These programs were developed with the assistance the GM Certified Dealer Work Group."

He mentioned that GM Certified has teamed up with Carfax to make Carfax Vehicle History Reports available to dealers and consumers.

Additionally, Pejza noted that GM Certified launched a pre-sale consultation process for GM Certified dealers.

"The certification pre-sale consultation process is designed to ensure a consistent customer experience at all GM Certified Used Vehicles' dealers across the nation," he said. "This initiative will create a continuous improvement process through ongoing dealership consultation and education."

Finally, Pejza said GMAC has introduced a winter rate incentive effective through March 31 that provides well-qualified buyers with GMAC 2.9 percent, 3.9 percent or 4.9 percent APR financing on select GM Certified Used Vehicles.

Continuing on, Toyota sold 17,921 certified vehicles, as compared to 19,958 in December.

"Our dealers had a 15-percent increase in inventory over the prior January," said Norm Olson, of Toyota sales operations. "Our recent enhancements to the program helped to widen the selection. Toyotas are still very much in demand and it is still very difficult for dealers to get them.

"We live in a field of dreams, if you build it, it will sell," he continued. We are now seeing that our certifications are up considerably. It's very encouraging to see our dealers getting more inventory."

Olson said Toyota dealers are still seeing a lot of buying activity in the Gulf Coast.

"A lot of FEMA checks are still coming," he said. "We will continue to see a lot of sales in the Gulf Coast and Katrina sales coming forward in the next several months. We think this will continue."

Overall, Chrysler sold 8,453 vehicles, as compared to 10,463 in December. Executives pointed out that this was a new January sales record.

In a breakdown by brand, Chrysler sold 2,742, as compared to 3,312 in December. Jeep sold 1,856 vehicles, as compared to 2,542 in the previous month. Furthermore, Dodge sold 3,855 vehicles, as compared to 4,609 in December.

"Typically, industry sales in January lag behind December sales in the CPOV market," said Ray Fisher, Chrysler Group vice president of sales, service and parts operations. "Chrysler Group experienced its best January CPOV sales ever with a sales increase of 4 percent over January 2005 sales, but saw a decline following a record December, which led to an 8 percent rise in total year CPOV sales in 2005."

Discussing Chrysler Group's sales growth this January compared to the prior January, Fisher added, "The comprehensive validation process conducted by our Five Star dealers continues to lead the CPOV segment. And now, with the award-winning Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum available, Chrysler Group dealers have more great products than ever to offer in the CPOV market."

In a breakdown by brand, Chrysler's sales grew 17 percent over the prior January. Dodge increased 3 percent and Jeep experienced a decline of 7 percent.

Honda dealers sold 13,482 units, as compared to 13,663 in December. Meanwhile, Acura moved 2,708 vehicles, as compared to 2,883 in the previous month.

Additionally, Volkswagen sold 2,815 CPO vehicles, down from 3,187 in December.

Jaguar also posted a slight decline in sales from the prior month, reporting sales of 1,021 Select Edition units, as compared to 1,162.

Moreover, Mercedes-Benz sold 3,066 vehicles, as compared to 3,649 in December.

As for BMW, it sold 5,761 certified vehicles, as compared to 6,486 in the previous month.

Looking at Porsche, its dealers sold 441 Porsche Approved Certified Pre-Owned units, as compared to 489 in December.

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