CARY, N.C. -

While industry observers spotted some factors impacting new-car sales, franchised dealerships produced strong results in moving certified pre-owned vehicles as the industry generated nearly a double-digit gain on a sequential basis.

According to information supplied by Autodata Corp. on Wednesday, February’s CPO sales came in at 211,475 units; a figure relatively unchanged from the same month last year but it represented a 9.8-percent jump from January.

Autodata said year-to-date sales through February now sit at 404,076 units, marking a 0.4-percent lift versus the same juncture a year ago.

Analysts pointed out there were 24 selling days in February of this year and last year as well as January. That element meant the daily selling rate was 8,811.                                                                                                

Looking a little deeper into the figures, Autodata determined year–over-year domestic CPO brand share softened by 2.9 percentage points to 33.8 percent. Meanwhile, European share ticked up 0.6 percentage points to 16.9 percent. The Asian share also increased, rising by 2.3 percentage points to 49.3 percent.

Perhaps what helped to goose CPO sales in February was shopper traffic dealerships generated through their websites, especially potential buyers scanning inventory via a mobile device. Dealer.com, a Cox Automotive company based in Burlington, Vt., that runs 62 percent of the nation’s dealer websites, shared some insights this week.

“Overall traffic on our Dealer.com websites was strong in February — at a good level — although the level is roughly flat versus year ago,” Andy MacLeay, director of digital marketing at Dealer.com.

“What we are seeing is continued, strong migration to mobile,” MacLeay continued. “People seem to be on the lots, viewing data, comparing cars.  On President’s Day weekend, the spike in mobile shopping was 25 percent higher than last year and 34 percent higher than 2015.”

Editor’s note: Watch for an upcoming report from Auto Remarketing detailing the February CPO sales figures from of the leading automakers in the space.