CarGurus said this week it has launched a Certified Pre-Owned Partner Program in Canada, bringing on Kia Canada and GM Canada as the first partners.
“We’re very excited to kick off our CPO Partner Program with Kia and GM as our first partners,” said Diego Sanson, CarGurus’ vice president of international business development, in a news release.
“Historically, the nuances of pre-owned certifications have not been perfectly clear to online car shoppers, and we're confident that CarGurus' CPO Partner Program will provide consumers the transparency they need to find and purchase the right vehicle from the right dealer,” Sanson said.
Through the program, consumers will be able to decipher between cars on the CarGurus platform that have certification from OEMs and those that are dealer-certified.
CarGurus is making the automaker-certified cars “easily identifiable” on the search results and vehicle display pages, as well, and including CPO designation as an element of its Deal Rating consideration.
“As we celebrate our twentieth year in Canada, Kia is excited to continue offering new ways for Canadians to access our lineup through this innovative platform from CarGurus,” said Elias El-Achhab, who is Kia Canada’s vice president and chief operating officer.
“With a growing reputation for quality and reliability based on consistent industry awards, Kia will be a very popular CPO choice for consumers for years to come,” El-Achhab said.
CarGurus automatically applies the OEM-certified CPO feeds to dealers listing their cars on the platform in Canada. Through CarGurus CPO certification, some franchised dealers can submit claims to automaker co-op programs for a full or partial refund on the money they spend on digital marketing at CarGurus.
Based on sales reports shared with Auto Remarketing Canada, at least three automakers had their best Februaries ever for certified pre-owned sales in Canada.
One of those was Porsche, which moved 169 units, same as last year. Year-to-date CPO sales are at 318, up from 312.
Last month was also the best February ever for Volkswagen. Its February CPO sales increased from 1,325 units to 1,448.
Year-to-date, VW has sold 2,987 certified vehicles, compared to 2,643 through two months of 2018.
Also reaching its best February ever was Mercedes-Benz, which moved 904 CPO vehicles. That beats the 869 sold a year ago. Year-to-date sales are at 1,773, compared to 1,731 a year ago.
Continuing on, Hyundai sold 602 certified pre-owned vehicles in February, compared to 619 a year ago. Through two months, CPO sales have reached 1,208 units, versus 1,328 in the same period of 2018.
“Hyundai Canada dealers continue to report robust interest in Hyundai Canada’s H Promise CPO Program,” Charles Plewes, Hyundai Canada’s manager of CPO sales, said via email.
“Although total plan registrations are down approximately 10 percent year-over- year, sales of H Promise as a percent of participating dealerships continues to grow. Based on projected product availability, sales are on track to meet and exceed 2018 levels,” he said.
Nissan moved 1,090 CPO vehicles in February, up from 656 a year ago. Year-to-date sales have climbed from 1,227 to 2,048 units.
Infiniti had 140 CPO sales month (compared to 63 in February 2018), with year-to-date sales reaching 256 (up from 129).
“The new CPO program has been very well received among the Infiniti retail network. National training is the next phase and is currently underway. We are expecting higher levels of engagement as the months progress,” said Joel Gregory, who heads up CPO for Nissan and Infiniti in Canada.
Toyota had 2,330 CPO sales in February, up from 2,317 a year ago. Year-to-date sales of 4,768 are up from 4,528 through 2 months of 2018.
Lexus moved 345 certified vehicles in February, compared to 301 a year ago. In two months, its CPO sales have reached 716 units, up from 609 in the year-ago period.
Subaru increased its February CPO sales by 90.6 percent, moving 303 vehicles. Through two months, it has sold 513 CPO vehicles for a 53.1-percent gain.
“We are getting more and more Subaru dealers involved in CPO and we are seeing this in our sales results,” said Nigel Smith, manager of business management & certified pre-owned at Subaru Canada.
The CPO vehicle market in Canada will be discussed in further detail later this month at the Auto Remarketing Canada Conference, which features a panel discussion on "The Pulse on CPO: A Snapshot of the Canadian Certified Market."
The confernece will be held March 19-20 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.
So how did the certified pre-owned sales market shake out in Canada last year? Here is a glimpse, based on sales results shared by automakers.
Mercedes-Benz Canada posted an all-time high of 13,833 certified sales in 2018, up 3.7 percent. The year included six record months and certified sales at a 76.1-percent penetration, according to the company.
Volkswagen also had its strongest CPO year ever, moving 20,716 units. That was up 19.5 percent from 2017.
Certified pre-owned sales at Porsche climbed from 2,150 sales in 2017 to 2,559 for 2018.
In emailed commentary, Porsche Cars Canada national pre-owned manager Farouk Giga said: “Porsche celebrated a very successful 2018 where it saw the continued the rollout of the comprehensive Unlimited Mileage Warranty benefit for the Approved CPO program. Bucking the industry trend, robust sales were had in both the passenger car and SUV segment with Cayenne (738) and the iconic 911 (683) being the top two vehicle sales by volume, respectively.
“Looking forward to 2019, Porsche has widened its vehicle eligibility criteria and will now cover vehicles up to 15 years of age under its Porsche Approved CPO and Warranty banners, underscoring the confidence and peace of mind existing and future clients can have when stepping into a Porsche vehicle,” Giga said.
Subaru provided data indicating it sold 3,423 certified vehicles in Canada last year, up 29.1 percent year-over-year.
Next up, Hyundai sold 8,166 CPO vehicles in 2018, down from 9,309 in 2017.
Charles Plewes, who is the manager of CPO and remarketing at Hyundai Auto Canada Corp., said via email: “Although sales volume would indicate otherwise, lack of inventory severely curtailed Hyundai Canada’s upward CPO sales trend in 2018. More Hyundai Dealers than ever have embraced the H Promise Brand and we are confident that 2019 will be a strong year and on par with the upswing experienced in 2017.”
Nissan sold 9,873 CPO vehicles in Canada last year, up from 9,423 in 2017. Infiniti moved 1,156 certified vehicles, compared to 1,270 a year earlier.
Nissan closed the year on a high note, said Joel Gregory of Nissan Canada, and Infiniti is emerging with a retooled program.
“December was another great month for Nissan’s CPO program. In fact, it was Nissan’s best December ever with a near doubling of sales compared to December of 2017,” Gregory said in emailed comments.
As for Infiniti, the CPO program has undergone a revamp. “The program enhancements are designed to increase both dealer engagement as well as sales of certified pre-owned vehicles,” Gregory said.
In the Canadian certified pre-owned vehicle market, it was the strongest October on record for Mercedes-Benz, which sold 1,259 CPO units last month.
That beats year-ago figures by 11.4 percent and puts the year-to-date tally at 11,906 units through 10 months, a 2.8-percent gain.
Likewise, Volkswagen had its strongest October ever for CPO. It sold 2,081 certified vehicles, compared to 1,605 a year ago. Year-to-date sales of 17,992 were up from 14,568 in the same period of last year.
Next up, Nissan had 854 CPO sales in October, compared to 599 a year ago. Its year-to-date sales are at 7,848, compared to 8,249 through 10 months of 2017.
Meanwhile, Infiniti moved 107 certified vehicles in October, up from 77 a year ago, and has sold 985 so far this year, down from 1,125 a year ago.
Toyota posted 2,977 certified sales for October, against 2,590 in October 2017. Its year-to-date sales are at 30,457, compared to 26,320 through 10 months of 2017.
Lexus had 468 CPO sales for the month, versus 378 in October 2017. Its year-to-date sales have climbed from 3,722 through October 2017 to 4,359 this time around.
Porsche sold 220 certified units in October, against 196 in October 2017. Through 10 months, CPO sales are at 2,152, compared to 1,783 last year.
[UPDATED with Nissan and Infiniti sales]
The year is three quarters of the way done, so here is a look at how certified pre-owned sales in Canada are faring through nine months:
Nissan increased its certified pre-owned sales from 584 in September 2017 to 765 last month. Through nine months, its sales have reached 6,994 units, compared to 7,650 through three quarters of 2017.
Infiniti sold 93 CPO vehicles in September, up from 83 a year ago. Year-to-date sales are at 878, compared to 1,048 in the same period of 2017.
Volkswagen sold 1,636 CPO vehicles in September, down from 1,681 a year ago.
Through three quarters, however, VW has moved 15,911 certified vehicles, up from 12,963 in the first nine months of 2017.
Porsche sold 229 certified vehicles in September, up from 202 a year ago.
Year-to-date sales are at 1,933, versus 1,587 through the same period of 2017.
Toyota’s September CPO sales climbed from 2,730 units a year ago to 3,050 this month. Year-to-date, sales have reached 27,481, compared to 23,734 in the first three quarters of last year.
Lexus posted 443 certified sales in September, against 387 in September 2017. Its year-to-date sales have climbed from 3,344 through three quarters of 2017 to 3,891 so far this year.
Mercedes-Benz had 1,293 certified sales in September for a 7.2-percent gain. Year-to-date CPO sales are up 1.8 percent at 10,647 units.
Volvo had 206 certified car sales last month, up from 160 a year ago. Sales through nine months (1,612 units) are down from 1,630 year-to-date sales through September 2017.
This story will be updated as Auto Remarketing Canada receives additional CPO sales numbers.
It was the best August ever for certified pre-owned car sales at Mercedes-Benz Canada.
The automaker said it sold 1,320 CPO vehicles, up from 1,222 in August 2017.
Year-to-date CPO sales for Mercedes are at 9,354 vehicles, compared to 9,249 through eight months of 2017.
It was also a strong month for other OEMs reporting CPO sales to Auto Remarketing Canada, as well.
Nissan’s CPO sales increased from 985 a year ago to 1,293 sales last month.
Through eight months, certified sales are at 6,229, down from 7,066 in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, Infiniti had 127 certified sales in August, compared to 91 a year ago.
Eight-month sales stand at 784, down from 965 last year.
“I was able to get some important structural changes made to Nissan’s CPO program approved and quickly implemented for launch in August. Accordingly, we had Nissan dealers respond in a positive way,” Joel Gregory, the national manager of CPO for Nissan Motor Corp. in Canada, said via email. “The future looks very positive.”
Toyota increased CPO sales from 2,813 in August 2017 units to 3,252 this past month. Year-to-date sale, it has sold 24,433 CPO vehicles, compared to 21,002 in the year-ago time frame.
August CPO sales for Lexus climbed from 554 to 579. Year-to-date, they’re at 4,310, against 4,128 through eight months of 2017.
For Volkswagen, August CPO sales of 1,926 were up 6.9 percent year-over-year. Year-to-date sales have climbed 26.5 percent and are at 14,275 units.
Volvo increased its certified sales by 19.7 percent in August, moving 255 cars. Through eight months, it has sold 1,406 CPO units.
Porsche moved 239 certified vehicles for the month, versus 207 in August 2017. Through eight months, sales have climbed from 1,385 to 1,704.
Through five months of 2018, certified pre-owned sales continue to look strong for a few automakers reporting results to Auto Remarketing Canada.
Volkswagen, for example, had its best-ever May. It moved 1,938 CPO units, which was up 36.2 percent year-over-year.
VW’s year-to-date sales of 8,283 units are up 29.8 percent.
Audi sold 815 certified pre-owned vehicles in May, beating the year-ago figure by 9.1 percent. Through five months, it has moved 3,762 CPO vehicles, a 23.2-percent increase.
The 213 certified sales from Porsche in May represented a lift of 7 percent from a year ago, pushing the year-to-date sum to 946, a 19-percent increase.
Hyundai increased CPO sales 3 percent in May, selling 900 units.
“Hyundai Canada continues to be very pleased with how dealers have responded to the program,” Hyundai Auto Canada’s senior manager of fleet sales, CPO and remarketing Russell Seton said via email. “We are now seeing more dealers engaged and actively supporting the brand.”
Mercedes-Benz was relatively steady with year-ago figures, moving 1,373 CPO units, compared to 1,378 in May 2017.
Likewise, its 5,665 year-to-date certified sales are up slightly from 5,653 through five months of 2017.
Nissan had 927 CPO sales in May, compared to 1,400 a year ago. Its year-to-date sum is at 1,618, down from 2,265 in the year-ago period.
Infiniti moved 115 certified vehicles for the month, up from 111 in May 2017. Its year-to-date sales are at 209, compared to 245 in the same period of 2017.
Volvo had 772 certified sales in May.
Volkswagen Canada had its strongest month ever for certified pre-owned sales, moving 2,016 CPO units in April, according to the automaker.
This was up 52.6 percent over April 2017 sales. This followed March sales of 1,686 CPO units, which beat year-ago figures by 18.6 percent.
Through four months, VW is up 28 percent with 6,345 CPO sales.
Elsewhere in the CPO market, there were several other positive signs.
At Porsche, certified sales have climbed 22 percent year-to-date at 733. March sales were up 32 percent (216 units), and April sales climbed 15 percent (205 units).
Hyundai has sold 2,998 certified vehicles through April, up from 2,685 units a year ago. It moved 819 in March (up from 747 in March 2017) and 808 in April (up from 787).
“Hyundai Canada Dealers continue to embrace H Promise CPO with ever-increasing adoption and steady year-over-year growth,” Russell Seton, senior manager of fleet sales, CPO remarketing national sales at Hyundai Auto Canada, said via email.
Mercedes-Benz has sold 4,282 certified vehicles through four months, up 0.2 percent year-over-year. In March it moved 1,282 CPO vehicles (down 7.0 percent), but increased sales 1.9 percent in April with 1,269 vehicles moved.
Toyota has sold 10,823 certified vehicles so far this year, up from 9,546 in the first four months of 2017. In April, it sold 3,191 CPO vehicles, compared to 2,929 in April 2017.
It moved 3,104 CPO cars in March, compared to 2,598 a year earlier.
Automakers shared their certified pre-owned sales results with Auto Remarketing Canada for February, and below is a rundown of how auto brands are faring through two months of the year.
Starting with Audi, the automaker increased CPO sales by 29.4 percent year-over-year, moving 612 units in February. It has lifted year-to-date sales by 37.1 percent, selling 1,230 CPO vehicles.
Porsche certified sales climbed from 136 units in February to 169 last month.
Year-to-date sales are at 312, compared to 256 sales a year ago.
Hyundai increased CPO sales by 23 percent last month, moving 645 units. Its year-to-date numbers (1,359 sales) are up by 27 percent.
Toyota reported 2,317 certified sales for February, up from 2,038 a year ago. Through two months, there have been 4,528 Toyota CPO sales, compared to 4,024 through February 2017.
There were 1,325 VW CPO sales in February, compared to 1,094 a year ago.
VW has sold 2,643 certified vehicles year-to-date, against 2,215 in the first two months of 2017.
Over at Mercedes-Benz, there were 869 certified pre-owned vehicle sales last month, versus 878 in February 2017.
If certified pre-owned vehicle sales in Canada appear strong, that may only be the tip of the iceberg.
That is, if it follows the pattern of the CPO market in the U.S., which took some time to develop but certainly “caught on … in a big way” during the last decade.
KAR Auction Services chief economist Tom Kontos believes Canadian CPO car sales will remain on the upswing and give a boost to used-car values.
“Certification seems to be another sort of avenue that will probably be helpful to the Canadian market going forward. Certification really caught on in the U.S. in a big way over the last ten years, but in Canada, it’s a little more embryonic, though growing,” Kontos said in a phone interview with Auto Remarketing Canada correspondent Sarah Rubenoff.
“I would expect certified used-vehicle sales continue to grow in Canada and provide demand/supply support to wholesale values because those off-lease units that start coming back are perfect candidates to be certified cars,” he said.
From 2013 through 2017, there were an average of roughly 225,000 lease returns each year in Canada, said Canadian Black Book’s Brian Murphy. However, the average for the 2019-2021 time frame is expected to be 400,000 lease returns annually, he said.
So look for the CPO “candidates” to be plentiful in coming years.
And look for more used-car analysis from both Kontos and Murphy at next month’s Auto Remarketing Canada Conference. Both are speakers during the two-day event, which is being held March 27-28 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.
CPO sales from January, full-year 2017
As far as the present, certified sales are already showing some strength, based on the numbers provided by automakers in Canada.
Mercedes-Benz had its strongest January ever for CPO, moving 862 vehicles for an 11.5-percent year-over-year gain.
In full-year 2017, Mercedes moved 13,344 certified cars — its best-ever year for CPO and a 5.1-percent improvement.
Volkswagen also had its strongest January ever for certified and an all-time annual record.
Its 1,318 CPO sales last month were up 17.6 percent year-over-year. And with 17,338 CPO sales, 2017 was the best year ever for VW CPO and a 13-percent year-over-year gain.
Hyundai sold 716 certified vehicles in January, up 32 percent year-over-year. This was its strongest month in six years. In 2017, Hyundai sold 9,125 certified vehicles, compared to 6,101 in 2016.
At Porsche, January CPO sales were up 19 percent at 143. This follows a 2017 that saw the brand sell 2,150 certified cars for the year (up 13 percent).
“Porsche Approved Certified Pre-Owned had a stellar year in 2017 with growth above expectations. With a brand such as Porsche and its rich history, it is wonderful to see that the passenger car business is just as healthy as the ever growing SUV segment. Pre-owned 911s and Panamera had a great year respectively — and Macan did exceptionally well bringing new clients into Porsche Centre showrooms and ultimately, the Porsche family,” Farouk Giga, national pre-owned manager at Porsche Cars Canada, said via email.
“2018 promises more of the same with January already showing strength over the same time last year. We look forward this year to an increase in Porsche Approved CPO market share, higher pre-owned and Porsche Classic sales but most importantly, providing the best client experience in the business,” Giga said.
Over at Audi, there were 618 CPO car sales in January for a whopping 45.8-percent year-over-year gain. In 2017, Audi sold 8,441 units, increasing its annual sales by 23.5 percent.
Volvo sold 148 certified vehicles for January, up 2.1 percent from January 2017.
For full-year 2017, it moved 2,097 CPO vehicles, down from 2,324 a year earlier. Volvo’s objective for 2018 is to move 2,806 certified vehicles.
At Toyota, there were 2,213 CPO sales in January, up from 1,986 a year earlier. Toyota moved 31,010 certified vehicles in 2017, compared to 25,880 in 2016.
