Trio of Brands Hit Best-Ever CPO Sales
Not only did automakers sell certified pre-owned vehicles at a best-ever daily pace in July, a trio of brands achieved all-time records for full-month CPO sales.
According to Autodata Corp., Kia, Mazda and Mini each had their best-ever month in the certified segment.
Kia sold 1,749 certified units last month, more than double the 747 CPO vehicles it moved in July 2011. Year-to-date sales stand at 10,392 units, a 122.1-percent gain. Fellow record-breaker Mazda sold 2,345 CPO vehicles for a 47.1-percent gain. Through seven months of 2012, it has moved 13,846 certified vehicles, up 31.2 percent year-over-year.
Mini’s best-ever month included 294 CPO sales, a 39.3-percent improvement. Through July, it has sold 1,748 certified vehicles for a 43.3-percent hike.
Overall, there were 151,055 CPO sales in the U.S. during July, compared to 150,831 certified units moved in July 2011, Autodata noted. To view the firm’s sales charts outlining CPO performances from the past three months, see the links below.
June 2012, CPO Sales Summary
July 2012, CPO Sales Summary
While July’s CPO sales just narrowly edged up from year-ago figures, the daily selling rate was the strongest of all time (for July or any month). The best-ever daily selling rate of 6,294 units was an 8.5-percent year-over-year improvement and a 4.8-percent month-over-month gain.
July had 24 selling days, while June had 27 and July 2011 had 26.
Through seven months of 2012, there have been 1.07 million CPO sales, compared to 1.02 million in the same period of 2011.
Domestics commanded 31 percent of the CPO market in July, while Europeans were at 16.5 percent, Autodata said. Asian automakers took more than half of the certified market (52.5 percent).
More OEMs Report Monthly CPO Sales
Another automaker to notch strong CPO sales in July was Hyundai, which had its best July on record. It sold 5,906 certified vehicles, which was the third-highest sum of all time for the brand. This was up from 4,035 CPO sales in July 2011.
Year-to-date, it has sold 39,071 certified vehicles, compared to 23,920 units through seven months of 2011.
Ford, meanwhile, had its best July for CPO in five years, as combined Ford/Mercury and Lincoln CPO sales reached 14,855 units, a 31-percent gain.
The Lincoln brand, in particular, had its best July in 10 years, with 1,598 CPO sales (up 13 percent). There were 13,257 Ford/Mercury CPO units sold for a 34-percent gain and the best July since 2007.
“It was another solid month for Ford and Lincoln CPO sales, up 31 percent versus last year and our best July sales volume since 2007,” said Renee Godfrey, Ford CPO brand manager. “Inventory levels were the best July on record and continue to climb with now over 80% of our dealers enrolled in the Ford and Lincoln CPO program.”
Next up, Toyota moved 27,304 certified units in July, compared to 29,287 CPO sales in July 2011. Through seven months of 2012, it has sold 191,265 certified vehicles, versus 196,400 in the same period of 2011.
“TCUV had another successful sales month,” said Toyota’s Brag Heagy, noting that the brand’s daily selling rate in July climbed 1 percent year-over-year to 1,137 units.
“Inventory levels and values are normalizing and our dealers are prepared for a successful August,” added Heagy, who is the retail sales & operations manager for TCUV/TRAC. “We are continuing the 2.9- percent APR up to 60 months on all models, and our recently announced RAV4 1.9-percent APR up to 60 months program continues, as well.”
Moving along, the Honda brand sold 21,186 CPO units last month, which was the exact amount it sold in July 2011, the automaker noted. The Acura brand sold 4,020 CPO vehicles in July, compared to 4,302 certified units in July 2011.
Year-to-date, the Honda brand has reached 144,196 certified sales, versus 135,888 CPO sales in the same period of 2011. Acura’s CPO sales have hit 25,807 units, down from 29,759 CPO sales a year ago.
“CPO inventory continues to outpace last year’s levels and our 1.9-percent APR financing drove traffic to our dealers during the first half of the month,” said Brian Butts, manager of auto remarketing at American Honda Motor Co. “As a result, we may have pulled ahead some sales.”
Over at General Motors, the company’s Chevrolet, Buick and GMC sold 22,039 CPO units in July, down 8.9 percent year-over-year. Year-to-date CPO sales are at 165,164 units.
Meanwhile, GM’s Cadillac brand sold 1,185 certified vehicles in July, down 43.5 percent year-over-year. Through July, it has moved 9,906 CPO vehicles.
At Chrysler, its brands combined to sell 8,769 CPO vehicles (down 11.4 percent) in July with year-to-date sales at 67,394 units (up 0.4 percent).
By brand, Dodge led the way with 4,188 CPO sales in July (up 22.7 percent), followed by Jeep with 2,935 CPO sales (down 19.8 percent) and Chrysler, which sold 1,646 CPO units (down 41.7 percent).
Fiat , which wasn’t included in the overall sum for Chrysler Group, sold nine CPO vehicles in July.
Mercedes-Benz increased its CPO sales 10.6 percent in July, selling 6,519 units. Through July, it has posted 45,938 CPO sales, up 0.4 percent year-over-year.
Lexus moved 5,268 certified vehicles in July, compared to 6,118 units in July 2011. Yearly sales are at 40,202 units, versus 41,616 CPO sales at this point of 2011.
BMW’s CPO sales came in at 5,654 units for July (down 16.6 percent), and year-to-date sales stand at 43,203 units (down 16.2 percent).
Volkswagen pulled in 6,656 CPO sales for the month, up 3.6 percent from July 2011. It has posted 50,169 certified sales this year (up 14.2 percent).
Audi moved 3,136 CPO units in July, down from 3,506 CPO sales a year ago. Through July, it has sold 21,475 certified vehicles, versus 22,348 in the same period of 2011.
The Nissan brand hit July CPO sales of 8,703 units (up 15.3 percent) and Infiniti sold 849 CPO units (down 22.7 percent). Yearly sales are 61,209 for Nissan (up 21.6 percent) and 7,478 for Infiniti (up 0.7 percent).
Subaru increased its CPO sales 2.1 percent as it moved 1,951 units in July. Through seven months, its certified sales have reached 13,781 units, down 0.8 percent year-over-year.
Volvo sold 962 certified vehicles in July (off 22.7 percent) and has moved 6,896 CPO units through seven months (down 8.3 percent).
Land Rover’s certified sales totaled 544 units in July, compared to 153 in July 2011. Year-to-dates, sales are at 3,786, up from 1,238 in the same period of 2011. As for Jaguar, its CPO sales came in at 284 units for the month, down from 352 last July.
Over at Porsche, it had 775 Approved Certified Pre-Owned vehicle sales in July. Through seven months, its sales have reached 5,631 CPO models, up from 5,142 in the same period of 2011.
Mitsubishi moved 27 CPO units last month, against 48 CPO sales a year ago. Maserati sold 29 CPO units in July, compared to 21 in July 2011. Bentley was estimated to have sold 30.
