WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. –

Last month was the strongest August ever for the certified pre-owned market, according to Autodata Corp., and a quartet of brands posted their best-ever CPO sales.

The firm said this morning that there were 160,206 CPO sales during the month, which marked a 9.6-percent year-over-year increase and a 6.1-percent jump from July. Through eight months, there have been 1.23 million certified units sold in 2012, which is 5.4 percent stronger than the same period of 2011.

Autodata noted that Kia, Mazda, Mini and Subaru each had their best month of all time for CPO sales (August or otherwise).

Mazda pulled in 2,615 certified sales during its best-ever month, 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.

Kia, meanwhile, sold 1,824 CPO units, compared to 787 in August 2011, and pushed its year-to-date total to 12,216 sales, up from 5,466 in the same period of last year.

Mini moved 349 certified vehicles, compared to 187 last August. Its year-to-date tally is at 2,097 CPO sales, up 49 percent. Subaru’s record month included 2,270 certified sales, which was 19.3 percent stronger than the year-ago sum. Through August, it has moved 16,045 certified units for a 0.5-percent gain.

Beyond the all-time record-breakers, a few automakers achieved record August CPO sales totals, as well. Those included Volkswagen, Hyundai and Toyota.