CARY, N.C. -

There was a 1-percent hike in used-vehicle retail sales in 2017, according to Cox Automotive, which reported the year ended with 39 million used cars sold.

And look for more growth this year.

The company is anticipating 39.5 million used-car retail sales in 2018.

As for 2017, the year closed with used-car sales climbing 4 percent from December 2016.

The seasonally adjusted annualized rate for used sales in December was 38.9 million.

Over at Edmunds, the company was projecting late in the month that December would finish with 2.7 million used-car sales, down from 2.9 million in November.

Its used-car SAAR forecast for December was 38.8 million. It finished at 39 million in November.

 Within the certified pre-owned slice of the used-car market, sales reached a seventh straight record year.

According to Autodata Corp., there was an estimated 2,645,718 CPO vehicles sold in 2017, compared to 2,642,986 sold in 2016.

That’s a gain of just 0.1 percent, but it was enough to bump certified sales to their best year on record.

The year closed with 221,126 sales in December, which was down 4.8 percent year-over-year. Dealers moved 624,602 CPO units in the fourth quarter, which was off 2.7 percent year-over-year, according to Autodata.