CARY, N.C. -

The certified pre-owned vehicle market continues to rocket toward what would be the 10th record year in the past 11.

CPO sales through seven months are up more than 4% from 2019, which was the best year ever for certified, and are beating 2020 figures by 15%.

That’s according to a Cox Automotive analysis of Motor Intelligence data, which indicates there have been 1,712,320 CPO sales year-to-date.

July CPO sales of 248,748 were down 2% year-over-year, but take that with a grain of salt: July 2020 was amid the surge in the used-car recovery.

What Cox considers to be a “much more relevant comparison” is the fact that last month’s certified sales beat July 2019 figures — a “more normal period” — by 5%.

Certified sales in July beat June figures by 4%, the company said.

Looking at some of the individual brands reporting CPO results, Volvo sold 3,325 certified vehicles in July and has moved 24,168 CPO units so far this year.

Mazda moved 6,704 certified vehicles last month, which was down 3% year-over-year. However, last month was its second-best July for CPO on record, behind July 2020.

In its analysis, Cox Automotive said that Kia showed the most growth in certified sales among non-luxury brands, with its CPO numbers up 18% year-over-year in July.

Cox pointed out that Toyota and Volkswagen saw certified sales fall more than 5%.  Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo had the biggest spike among luxury brands (up 43%), the analysis said.

As for the overall CPO market, Cox is seeing some positive signs for the future.

“Near-record low new-vehicle inventory and record-high prices will keep certified pre-owned units as very attractive alternatives,” Cox said. “Credit conditions also remain favorable, as it remains easier to get a CPO loan than it was a year ago, and lower average interest rates on CPO loans help soften the impact of higher prices.”