It’s one thing for certified pre-owned demand to have grown in recent years. But to have had the supply of late-model cars simultaneously skyrocket makes for a rather fortunate one-two punch.

And it’s a combo that’s made CPO an emerging heavyweight in the used-car industry, as automakers continue to shatter certified sales records.

“The sharp increase in CPO demand that has occurred over the past two years has come at an opportune time for manufacturers,” NADA Used Car Guide said in its latest NADA Perspective report.

“After years of declines stemming from the falloff in new vehicle sales during the recession, late-model supply — or the primary pool from which CPO vehicles are derived — finally started growing again in 2013,” NADA added.

Interestingly, the growth in supply of CPO-friendly cars that began in 2013 occurred right after the certified market had just recorded two straight best-ever years.

With more bountiful supply of late-model units in 2013, the industry reached yet another record year for certified sales and appears headed that way again in 2014.

CPO sales in the year’s first four months were up 11 percent from the same period of record-breaking 2013, NADA indicated.

Jonathan Banks, NADA’s senior director of vehicle analysis and analytics, alluded to this growth during a press conference at January’s NADA Convention & Expo, when he said the record sum from 2013 would likely be “blown away” by what happens in 2014.

“The big story here is, there will be more availability for the franchised dealers for inventory for those CPO units, which is great for consumers and great for dealers,” Banks said during the press conference.

“We think that 2.1 million CPO sales (figure) … will be blown away, driven by the availability of lease returns that will inevitably come back in 2014,” he said.

That seems to be case, if NADA’s data on late-model supply is any indication. Citing NADA’s used-vehicle supply forecast, the report called for 8-percent growth in late-model supply this year topped off with 9-percent growth next year.

NADA said that “combined, the 17-percent increase in used supply through 2015 will act as an additional catalyst supporting a continued increase in CPO sales.”

To illustrate this notion, the report hammers home the fact that brands who have boosted their supply of late-model supply the furthest are also among those generating the most CPO growth.

Consider this: Kia (up 44 percent), Subaru (up 37 percent) and Hyundai (up 26 percent) are at the top of the list of year-over-year sales gains so far this year for mainstream brands.

“Not coincidentally, NADA estimates that late-model supply will grow the most for Kia and Hyundai this year, while supply growth for Subaru is expected to be among the industry leaders,” the report noted.