WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. -

Thirteen import brand certified pre-owned programs hit best-ever years in 2013, according to Autodata Corp., and nine of these brands have started 2014 ahead of last year’s pace.

And most of the two dozen Asian and European automakers included in Autodata’s set showed year-over-year increases in CPO sales for January.

Despite losing a bit of market share to their Big 3 rivals, the collective groups of Japanese and European brands each showed CPO sales hikes:  Asian brands combined to move 79,069 certified vehicles last month for a 6.4-percent increase, while Europeans were up 1.1 percent with 27,594 CPO sales.

Among some of the highlights was Hyundai, which achieved its best-ever January with 7,060 certified sales as close to 600 of its dealers sold at least one CPO vehicle.

Sales for Hyundai were up 30.9 percent from January 2013, and fellow Korean brand Kia showed a 36-percent increase with 2,961 sales. Subaru was another big gainer with 34.6 percent more certified sales; its dealer body sold 3,346 units.

Land Rover drove its sales up by nearly 40 percent to 764 units.

Overall, Asian brands commanded 47.5 percent of the certified market, down from 49.4 percent in January 2013.

CPO market share for European brands was at 16.6 percent, versus 18.1 percent a year ago.