More than three-fifths of all used vehicles retailed by franchised dealers last year were acquired via trade-in, up from 57 percent in 2011, according to the NADA Data 2013.

Breaking that figure down, the annual report from the National Automobile Dealers Association indicated that franchised dealers got 39 percent of the used cars they sold in 2012 from trade-ins on new vehicles and 22 percent from trades on used cars.

About a quarter (24 percent) came from the auction, 6 percent were street purchases and 9 percent fell into the “other” source category.

All told, these dealers retailed 9.4 million used vehicles last year and moved 7.8 million units wholesale.

Both of those figures are up from 2011 numbers, when franchised dealers moved 8.7 million used units on the retail side and wholesaled 6.9 million vehicles.

Looking at the average franchised dealer’s financial profile, NADA found that used-vehicle department sales — which reached $12.18 million last year for the typical store — accounted for nearly a third (31.8 percent) of total sales at a dealership.  

In 2011, the average franchised dealer pulled in $11.25 million in annual sales in the used department, which commanded a 32.4-percent share of total sales.

The report also noted that the average used vehicle sold for $17,574 retail in 2012. In 2011, the average retail selling price was $17,267.

Editor's Note: Stay tuned for more of Auto Remarkerting's coverage of NADA Data 2013.