IRVINE, Calif. -

John Hine has seen a number of good things come out of Mazda’s certified pre-owned program since the automaker revamped it a year ago.

Mazda’s CPO program builds value and fosters greater consumer confidence, Hine said, and it has helped his San Diego dealership see greater used Mazda sales.

“And it’s also improved our gross-profit per unit, as well,” said Hine, who owns John Hine Mazda in San Diego and Temecula Mazda in Temecula, Calif.

In fact, gross profits on the used side are up about 30 percent, Hine said.

Hine is one of many CPO success stories at Mazda, which celebrated the one-year anniversary of launching its upgraded certified program on Friday.

On July 1, 2010, Mazda rolled out a re-tooled CPO offering and has seen substantial growth ever since. Amenities of the new program include things like a seven-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty that provides roadside assistance for the entire coverage period; $0 deductible on covered repairs; financing deals as low as 0.9-percent for 36 months; and a more robust online national online CPO advertising plan.

And, as Hine suggested, "lower costs" for dealers to participate.

These upgrades appear to be paying off.

From July 2010 through June 2011, Mazda moved 16,739 certified vehicles, according to group manager of remarketing and CPO Eric Watson. That represents a 227-percent improvement from the 5,125 certified units sold in the previous 12 months.

In June alone, Mazda sold 1,580 certified vehicles, a 198-percent increase.

When asked why Mazda has made such strides in the CPO segment, Watson told Auto Remarketing on Friday that he believes the automaker has delivered a program that offers more value.

“Both the dealers and customers are responding to that program,” he said.

Dealers, for one, are jumping in with full force.

The number of enrolled dealers has increased from 261 stores to 537 in the past year, a 106-percent improvement. Meanwhile, there are 324 active CPO dealers, up 231 percent from the 98 active dealers a year ago.

“I think it’s because the dealers are getting another profit opportunity,” Watson said. “I think the new-car business has had its ups and downs over the past couple of years, and used cars have been more stable.”

And Mazda dealers — like Hine, whose San Diego store ranks No. 14 nationally for CPO sales in the last 12 months— are thriving in the CPO segment.

Watson gave the example of Jim Bagan, who owns three Mazda stores in the Austin, Texas, area: Roger Beasley Mazda Georgetown, Roger Beasley Mazda Central and Mazda South.

Each of these stores typically hits monthly CPO sales of 30 to 40 units and all rank in the top 25 for certified sales during the last 12 months, Watson said.
Two of the stores — Mazda South and the Georgetown store — are each in the top 10. Interestingly enough, Bagan’s stores did not join the new CPO program when it was first re-launched last summer, but sales have surged in 2011.

Successes such as these have been measurable, but Watson said Mazda is not done growing. The goal for the second year?

“Really, we want another 50-percent growth from where we are today,” Watson said. “There is a lot of opportunity ahead for Mazda dealers to sell certified pre-owned.”