DEARBORN, Mich. -

The certified pre-owned market recently completed its second-best quarter on record and notched an 8-percent year-over-year increase in June, according to statistics from Autodata Corp.

But it’s not just CPO sales that are increasing.

Recent analysis from AutoTrader.com indicates that the prices of many certified vehicles are climbing, as well. In fact, of the 20 most popular CPO models on the site during the month, 17 saw their asking prices go up from June 2010.

Some units experienced double-digit price gains, like the certified Honda Accord (up 11.47 percent) and Civic (up 10.06 percent) models, the Toyota Highlander (up 10.96 percent) and the Ford Mustang (up 12.18 percent)

As most know, many consumers head to the CPO market as a lower-priced alternative to buying a new car. So, dealers must determine what the price threshold is for these shoppers, who may want the almost-like-new amenities but are still looking for a less costly option.

To shed a little light on how their dealers determine the best CPO price to keep a shopper in the certified realm, a couple of automakers offered some tips.

On the domestic front, Ford CPO manager Glenn Burke said: “In this hot used-vehicle market, successful dealers are positioning CPO as a ‘third brand’ with a like-new vehicle experience at a lower monthly payment.

“Successful stores have implemented a holistic pricing strategy that positions CPO payments between late-model used vehicles and new models,” he continued.

At Toyota, national TRAC/TCUV sales and operations manager Tom DeLuise offered his take, as well.

“Dealers carefully evaluate their inventory and pricing on a daily basis,” he explained.

“Dealers have access to multiple online tools that provide wholesale and retail pricing by model and model year which help them make their buying and pricing decisions,” DeLuise continued. “This enables them to be competitive and properly positioned in the market place.”

CPO Sales Notch Near-Record Quarter

Moving along to discuss monthly certified sales, 148,918 CPO units were sold in June, capping a quarter that was the second-strongest of all time for the CPO market, according to Autodata Corp.

This monthly sum was a year-over-year increase of 8 percent and a 3.1-percent hike from May.

Quarterly CPO sales came in at 449,016 units, missing the record set in the second quarter of 2008 by just over 14,100 vehicles.

In the first half of the year, there were 800,201 certified units sold, an increase of 8.5 percent compared to the pace through this point of 2010.

Two brands, in particular — Hyundai and Volkswagen — enjoyed their strongest CPO months ever, Autodata said.

Hyundai’s CPO sales came in at 4,247 units, a 116.6-percent year-over-year increase. Meanwhile, certified sales for the first half of 2011 reached 19,885 units for Hyundai, up 114.6 percent.

CPO manager Jose Froehlich said: "I would attribute Hyuindai’s June ’11 CPO sales to a multitude of factors, including, but not limited to: increased listings and dealer leads due to a major online advertising presence in June; dealer incentives; and the current inventory situation affecting the new-car market."

Meanwhile, VW moved 6,597 certified rides, a 35-percent hike. Through June, its sales have reached 37,495 CPO vehicles, a 52-percent improvement over the year-ago period.

“VW’s record CPO sales pace has been a culmination of many efforts. For instance, we are currently engaged in a training initiative across the country that focuses on optimizing used vehicle operations in VW dealerships,” said Scott Weitzman, VW’s manager of pre-owned operations.

“CPO is a foundational pillar of our initiative, but our focus goes beyond just that. Sure, CPO vehicles provide customers with a new-vehicle experience, but that experience must translate to all used cars, be they VW brands or others,” he continued. “We are working with industry partners to bring bleeding-edge technologies and techniques to our dealer network with guest speakers at our workshops."

Weitzman went on to add: “We know that providing a superior purchasing experience that is not differentiated from the new car sales process has helped bring in repeat CPO buyers and allowed us to conquest fence-sitters in the market. Our dealers leverage their current customer base by using the VW CRM system to shorten the cycle of ownership by communicating the benefits of early trade-in during this unique used-car market.

"This has helped us sell more often to the same loyal VW customers while spiking the supply of CPO-eligible units to newcomers to the VW brand. It will be a challenge to maintain our momentum in the second half of 2011, but we will be launching new campaigns and programs to ensure VW dealers remain at the forefront of the used car business,” he continued.

Domestically, General Motors’ Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac and Saturn brands combined to sell 24,037 certified vehicles, down 1.8 percent from June 2010. So far this year, these brands have sold 141,899 units, up 4.6 percent from a year ago.

There were 44 certified Hummer units sold in June, down 59.3 percent, with 384 being sold in the first half of the year (down 48 percent).

GM moved 2,447 certified Cadillac units in June for a 20.8-percent increase. Year-to-date sales reached 12,115 units.

Over at Ford, it sold 12,081 CPO vehicles for the month, a year-over-year gain of 8.9 percent. Year-to-date sales have fallen 7.4 percent to 63,665 units.

The Ford division sold 10,143 units in June (up 6.3 percent) and Lincoln/Mercury moved 1,938 certified vehicles (up 25.2 percent).

Chrysler’s certified sales hit 9,944 vehicles, an improvement of 7.8 percent. Through June, sales have totaled 57,234 vehicles, an 8.7-percent hike.

By brand, Jeep sold 3,525 CPO units (up 12.3 percent), Dodge moved 3,472 units (down 2 percent) and the Chrysler division’s CPO sales came in at 2,947 units (up 16 percent).

Continuing on, Toyota sold 27,350 certified vehicles, which was its strongest June on record and a 1.9-percent year-over-year uptick. Through the first half of 2011, Toyota’s CPO sales have totaled 167,113, an increase of 8.9 percent.

Lexus also had its strongest June ever for CPO, pulling in 5,878 sales. This marked a 7.9-percent hike from a year ago, when the previous June record was set. Lexus moved 35,493 certified vehicles in the first six months of the year for a 6.3-percent gain.

Mazda’s CPO sales reached 1,580 units in June for a 198-percent hike, with year-to-date sales of 8,959 units, marking a 228-percent increase.

This capped the first full year of Mazda’s revamped CPO program. As reported in Auto Remarketing, Mazda’s group manager of remarketing and CPO Eric Watson said the aim of the company’s new certified offering was to create program with greater value.

“Both the dealers and customers are responding to that program,” he said. However, there is still room to grow," Watson emphasized.

“Really, we want another 50-percent growth from where we are today,” Watson said. “There is a lot of opportunity ahead for Mazda dealers to sell certified pre-owned.”

The Honda brand posted CPO sales of 19,824 units, a 14.6-percent increase. The year-to-date sum is at 114,366 units, an 18.2-percent surge.

Meanwhile, Honda’s Acura division moved 4,102 CPO units during the month (up 11.8 percent) and reached year-to-date sales of 25,412 units (up 22.4 percent).

Moving over to Nissan, both its divisions were up in June, as well. CPO sales for the Nissan brand came in at 7,689 units (up 19.7 percent) with year-to-date sales at 42,772 units (up 9.5 percent).

Infiniti posted 1,176 CPO sales in June (up 23.9 percent) and first-half sales of 6,328 vehicles (up 11 percent).

Next up, Mercedes-Benz sold 6,410 CPO vehicles in June, down marginally (0.2 percent) from last year. So far this year, sales have hit 39,860 certified units, a decline of 3.6 percent.

At BMW, its CPO sales came in at 6,587 units, versus 8,325 sales in June 2010. For the first half, BMW has sold 44,778 certified vehicles, down 21 percent year-over-year.

Volvo moved 1,101 CPO vehicles, down from 1,489 units a year ago. Yearly sales have reached 6,277 units, compared to 9,136 certified sales through the first half of 2010.

Audi reached certified sales of 3,636 units for the month, compared to 2,590 in the year-ago period. Through June, it has sold 18,842 CPO rides, up from 13,506 units.

Subaru notched CPO sales of 1,962 units, compared to 1,735 units in June 2010. Certified sales for the year have climbed 31.1 percent to 11,986 vehicles.

Kia sold 675 certified vehicles, compared to 635 in June 2010. Year-to-date sales stand at 3,932 units, compared to 3,469 in the prior-year period.

Among other automakers, Porsche saw a 33.3-percent lift in CPO sales to 769 units.

Jaguar achieved a CPO sum of 272 units, down from 320 vehicles a year ago. Land Rover sold 153 CPO units, compared to 242 in June 2010.

Mini reached 169 certified cars sold, versus its total of 188 a year ago.

Saab’s certified sales came in at 96 vehicles, versus 245 in June 2010.

Mitsubishi sold 22 CPO vehicles, compared to 46 a year ago. Maserati increased its CPO sales from 19 to 30 units.

Bentley was estimated to have sold 30 certified units.