Fresh off the best January in the history of the certified pre-owned market — which had followed record full-year CPO sales in 2012 — dealers had the most successful February ever in their certified operations, according to Autodata Corp.  Not to mention, it was also the strongest daily selling rate ever, Autodata indicated.

The firm said there certified sales reached 156,947 units in February for a 5.1-percent year-over-year gain.  Through two months, CPO sales have climbed nearly 10 percent from the year-ago, hitting 307,572 vehicles.

This compares to 280,454 certified sales through February 2012.

As for the daily selling rate for the month, Autodata indicated this best-ever figure was at 6,539.

February Record-Breakers

Autodata did not indicate any brands as having set all-time records, but as of press time, several brands reported their best Februaries on record: the Ford/Mercury, Hyundai, Mazda and Volkswagen brands.

Starting with VW, its 7,301 certified sales marked a February record, a 4.4-percent year-over-year increase and the 10th straight time VW has achieved a monthly high, according to the automaker.

VW’s year-to-date sales are up 13 percent at 14,625 units.

Fellow February record-setter Hyundai sold 5,627 CPO units last month for a 9-percent year-over-year hike. Through two months, it has moved 11,020 CPO vehicles for a 12-percent gain.

At Ford, its brand combined to sell 16,096 CPO vehicles in February, pushing the year-to-date total to 30,971 certified sales.

Breaking February’s figure down, Ford/Mercury sold 14,539 certified rides, which was the strongest February on record. Lincoln moved 1,557 CPO units during the month.

Next up, Mazda sold 2,638 certified vehicles in February, which was a 40.8-percent year-over-year gain. It has sold 5,198 certified units through the first two months of 2013, a 49.7-percent improvement.

Look to AutoRemarketing.com and AR e-newsletters for complete certified pre-owned coverage.

Joe Overby can be reached at joverby@autoremarketing.com. Continue the conversation with Auto Remarketing on both LinkedIn and Twitter.