Used-vehicle sales improved 1.5 percent year-over-year in August, according to CNW Research, which said today there were 3.87 million used units sold during the month.

Franchised dealers, in particular,  increased their used sales 3.3 percent, as they moved 1.48 million units. And early indications are that certified pre-owned sales fared well for many of these franchised dealers, as well.

CPO sales results from August began trickling in this morning, and there have already been two records reported to Auto Remarketing.

Achieving its best-ever August for CPO sales was Volkswagen, which moved 7,557 units during the month. This marked nearly an 18-percent year-over-year gain and was also the third-best month of all time for the brand, says Scott Weitzman, the general manager of used-vehicle operations at Volkswagen of America.

This pushed year-to-date CPO sales to 57,727 units, up 14.7 percent from the same period of 2011.

Weitzman said the automaker was “pleasantly surprised with our performance in August,” and shared how the brand’s lease pull-ahead program benefitted dealers.

“Our dealers were able to maintain a consistent supply of late-model vehicles with help from an aggressive lease pull-ahead program that ran over the past three months,” he noted. “VW dealers pulled ahead more than 2,000 units that were scheduled for maturity in the second quarter of 2013.”

Hyundai also reached its best August ever for CPO sales, moving 6,362 units (up from 4,614 certified sales in August 2011). This was the brand’s second-strongest month on record in the certified market.

Year-to-date certified sales are at 45,433 units, compared to 28,534 sales in the same period a year ago.

VW and Hyundai weren’t the only ones reporting CPO sales today.

At Ford, the Ford/Mercury CPO sum for the month came in at 13,645 units, up significantly from the 9,467 certified vehicles sold in August 2011. Through August, there have been 99,082 Ford/Mercury CPO vehicles sold, compared to 76,302 in the same period of 2011.

Lincoln’s certified sales climbed from 1,475 in August 2011 to 1,638 units sold last month. Year-to-date sales stand at 13,259 units, versus 9,635 CPO sales in eight months of 2011.

Audi sold 3,366 CPO vehicles last month, compared to 3,170 in August 2011. Through August, its dealers have posted 24,841 certified sales, down from 25,518 through August 2012.

Mazda pulled in 2,615 certified sales in August, versus 1,663 CPO sales a year ago. Its year-to-date certified sum stands at 16,461 units, versus 12,217 sales through August 2011.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz notched 6,921 certified sales last month for a 17.3-percent year-over-year gain, putting its year-to-date total at 51,651CPO sales (up 2.3 percent).

Porsche reported that there were 870 Porsche Approved Certified Pre-Owned vehicle sales in August, up 18 percent year-over-year. Through eight months, it has moved 6,500 CPO units, compared to 5,879 certified sales in the same period of 2011. 

Stay tuned to Auto Remarketing for more details on August CPO sales and CNW’s analysis on the used-vehicle market.

NADA Adds CPO

In other news from the certified segment, the National Automobile Dealers Association has officially begun including a CPO valuation in its used vehicle retail values. This move, which was announced in the latest Guidelines report from NADA Used Car Guide, became effective Saturday.

“Business professionals now have a guide to the typical premium added to the retail value when a given vehicle is initially sold under a manufacturer’s certification program,” NADA Used Car Guide senior analyst Jonathan Banks said in the Guidelines report.

“NADA guidebooks and select online products will include the CPO value as an “ADD” in the Optional Equipment listing to the Retail value only,” he continued. “The CPO premium takes into account the warranty extension provided for the vehicle as well as the vehicle meeting the individual CPO program requirements of multi-point inspection, minimum age, maximum mileage, etc."

Banks will be tackling CPO pricing in more depth at this fall’s CPO Forum, which is part of the Used Car Week series of conferences held Nov. 12– 16 in Scottsdale, Ariz.