SANTA MONICA, Calif. –

There were 9.45 million used-car sales in the third quarter, beating year-ago figures by 2.5 percent, according to Edmunds.com.

And one vehicle age group, in particular, is becoming an even bigger part of that market. 

In its Q3 Used Vehicle Market Report, Edmunds said that cars 3 years old and newer accounted for roughly two-fifths (39.1 percent) of used-car sales in the third quarter. That’s up from 36.5 percent in Q3 2014.

“This trend will continue since with each year since the recession, leasing has become an essential tool to sell new cars, which fuels the ‘new-adjacent’ market,” Edmunds said in the report.

Elsewhere in the report, analysts noted: “All indicators point toward the used market getting even younger, as lease volumes have intensified and rental car companies continue to acquire and sell higher volumes of vehicles.

“The higher price-point of younger vehicles blurs the new/used distinction, which will become a prevalent theme for the industry going forward,” they said.

Given these late-model numbers mentioned above, Edmunds expects certified pre-owned to command even more share of franchised dealers’ used-car sales, even with that CPO penetration already at record levels.