CARY, N.C. -
May was another strong month for used-car sales, as the industry continues to rebound. In fact, Cox Automotive indicated in a recent Data Point report that the SAAR was 41.0 million last month, up from 39.9 million a year ago and steady with April figures. 
 
But how have overall used-car sales fared so far in 2021? 
 
We share some of the year-to-date numbers below. 
 
Through May, there have been 17.7 million total used-car sales, beating year-ago figures by 26.5%, according to Cox Automotive. Those numbers are also up 1.7% from the first five months of 2019.
 
In what Cox considers “used retail” (sales coming from franchised and independent dealers, as well as direct-to-consumer platforms), there have been 9.6 million pre-owned sales through five months of 2021. 
 
That’s up 30.7% year-over-year and beats the first five months of 2019 by 6.1%. 
 
Elsewhere, J.D. Power Valuation Services shared PIN data that looked specifically at how franchised dealers’ used-car sales have fared year-to-date through the first five months of 2021. 
 
According to that data, there have been 5.26 million used-car sales among franchised dealers through May, up 25% year-over-year and up 12% from the same period of 2019. It’s also up 17% from the first five months of 2018, according to the PIN data.
 
“This certainly supports what we had been seeing leading up to 2020 as dealers focused even more attention on used-vehicle operations,” J.D. Power Valuation Services executive analyst David Paris said in emailed comments. 
 
“This trend has certainly been amplified this year as dealers continue to lean on used to help fill the voids from challenges on the new side of the market,” Paris said.
 
“I also continue to hear stories of dealers hanging onto trade-in units that normally don’t fit their specific needs and retailing as many vehicles as they can. Think higher mileage used vehicles that would typically be sent to auction then retailed at another dealer or independent.”