Canada’s new-vehicle market has continued to experience an up-and-down year through the first nine months of 2011, but based on what automakers are telling Auto Remarketing Canada, the certified pre-owned market, once again, fared quite well.

Many of the automakers reporting CPO results to Auto Remarketing Canada experienced year-over-year gains in certified sales during September. One of these brands was Audi Canada, which saw its CPO numbers climb almost 20 percent.

Specifically, the company moved 369 CPO rides in September, up 19.4 percent year-over-year. The year-to-date growth has been even stronger for Audi, which has climbed 24.8 percent to 3,140 CPO sales for the first three quarters.

“We did exceed our objectives in September, despite a stronger than usual August (as compared to our historical seasonality),” said Jonathan Breton, manager of CPO and corporate sales for Audi Canada.

Volvo Cars of Canada also experienced certified growth, as its September sales jumped from 58 to 150. In addition to the 158.6-percent year-over-year growth, that also marks a 24.1 percent month-over-month gain.

Through September, it has moved 952 CPO units, up from 584 certified sales in the year-ago period.

“September was stronger than what we forecasted and year-over-year growth was the highest on record ,” stated Emanuel Lichtinshtein, national fleet sales, CPO & remarketing manager for the company.

“Again this is proof that certified Volvos are an excellent choice for people who are looking for premium vehicle which is safe, reliable and fun to drive,” Lichtinshtein added.

Over at BMW Group of Canada, the BMW brand achieved a 5.5-percent year-over-year gain in CPO sales, as it sold 1,153 vehicles. Through September, CPO sales are up 3.9 percent at 9,808 units.

The company’s Mini brand climbed 22.2 percent in September, moving 133 certified vehicles. The year-to-date sum came in at 1,591 units, a 45.3-percent hike.

Mercedes-Benz Canada had its strongest ever September for pre-owned sales. It moved 1,281 pre-owned vehicles for an 18-percent gain. Through September, it moved 9,986 pre-owned vehicles, a 25.2-percent hike. At Mercedes-Benz Canada, pre-owned figures include both certified pre-owned and non-CPO.

At Toyota Canada, the Toyota brand moved 1,922 certified units for its best September for CPO. This compared to 1,636 certified sales in September 2010.

Not all automakers, however, experienced gains in CPO sales.

At Honda Canada, September CPO sales for the Honda brand dipped from 1,752 units a year ago to 1,539 vehicles.

However, the Acura brand increased certified sales to 246, up from 207 CPO sales in September 2010.

Year-to-date, the Honda brand is down 2.8 percent with 14,860 certified sales, but the Acura brand is up 32 percent with 1,999 CPO sales.

"There is no better illustration of the strong connection between new- and used-vehicle sales than our current situation,” explained Todd Fowler, Honda Canada’s used-vehicle operations manager.

“While most of our vehicles have returned to full production, our top sales volume model — Civic — is just now returning to full production,” he added. “As a result, used Civic inventory is much lower than usual, and has resulted in an expected, but unfortunate, decline in our CPO sales.”

Volkswagen Canada, meanwhile, saw its September certified sales remain fairly static at 957 units, compared to 966 sales a year ago.

Year-to-date figures were steady, as well, with sales coming in at 8,660 units, compared to 8,609 CPO sales through the first nine months of 2010.

“Volkswagen Canada’s CPO sales results remained strong during the month of September, and continue to perform above last year’s levels,” said Thomas Tetzlaff, manager of public relations for VW Canada.

“In October, we are commencing a multi-faceted marketing program designed to shine the spotlight on the strength of the Volkswagen program. We are confident that the increased awareness will drive sales in the year’s final quarter,” he continued.