TORRANCE, Calif. -

During February the industry’s certified pre-owned sales continued the momentum from the solid start to 2011 and posted double-digit year-over-year gains.

February, of course, also was a month where fuel costs surged and a few automakers offered their perspectives to shed some light on how the CPO market is faring during this gas-price surge.

Overall, there were 133,807 CPO units sold during February, according to Autodata Corp. This sum equaled a 16.7-percent year-over-year rise and an 8.1-percent sequential gain. This marked the 12th straight month of upward year-over-year movement for the CPO segment, and through the year’s first two months, 2011 has bested 2010 by a double-digit percentage.

Specifically, year-to-date CPO sales have reached 257,573 units, a 14.9-percent hike from the year-ago pace.

These trends are occurring, of course, in the midst of rising fuel costs. What has been seen on the CPO side in light of these increases?

“Our sales mix of total car versus light truck has not dramatically changed as of yet. We do anticipate more sub compact, compact and hybrid certified buyers as gas prices continue to rise,” said Tom DeLuise, the national manager for TRAC and TCUV at Toyota, whose February CPO sales climbed 41.8 percent year-over-year to 26,082 vehicles. “And additionally, Toyota was the first to launch a hybrid brand extension to our certified program so we have long supported the fuel economy message.”

So far this year, Toyota — which notched its best February on record — has moved 50,043 certified vehicles, compared to 38,005 in the year-ago period.

DeLuise continued: “Our dealers are constantly monitoring the used-vehicle market. They watch consumer trends and shopping patterns from their online traffic which gives them a pretty good indication of what customers are looking for. It allows dealers to quickly adjust inventory their inventory mix to meet market demand.

“Toyota dealers have always sold the value of Toyota products and the fuel efficiency of our entire product lineup,” DeLuise added. “Currently our new-vehicle advertising (message) — No. 1 For a Reason — is helping carry the message for us on the certified side too. Toyota vehicles are known for fuel-efficiency so it has always been a key customer purchase consideration and a great dealer sales tool. “

Moreover, he pointed out that the comprehensive warranty has been extended to 12 months/12,000 miles on March 1, compared to three months/3,000 miles previously.

Over at BMW, pre-owned marketing manager Joan Bowen said that gas-price gains haven’t yet led to any real changes on the certified side for the automaker, which sold 7,557 CPO units in February (down 10.8 percent year-over-year) and has moved 14,669 units year-to-date (down 7.8 percent).

“In general, the BMW pre-owned floor traffic remains strong across the model lineup. The recent increase in gas prices has not yet influenced model-specific interest,” she explained. “Based on January and February sales of all pre-owned vehicles, the demand is healthy for all BMW models. It is interesting to note that as yet, the auction values do not reflect any influence from the gas prices.”

Domestically, Ford CPO manager Glenn Burke offered insight from his automaker, as well.

“Ford and Lincoln dealers recognize the sales and retail consumer value opportunity associated with CPO vehicles in this rising fuel price environment,” he noted. “Dealers are building CPO inventory levels. We look forward to a strong spring selling season.”

Overall, Ford moved 9,134 units, which was down 19.4 percent from February 2010. Year-to-date sales through February stood at 17,625 certified vehicles, off 16.6 percent.

By brand, Lincoln/Mercury CPO sales reached 1,426 units in February (down 11.9 percent) while the Ford division moved 7,708 CPO units (down 20.6 percent).

At General Motors, all of its certified brands combined to sell 25,254 units in February, compared to 23,009 in February 2010. Through the first two months of the year, it has sold 47,069 CPO vehicles, compared to 44,687 in the year-ago period.

GM Certified Used Vehicles posted February sales of 23,381 units, which is up 12.1 percent from the year-ago period. Year-to-date sales climbed 7.5 percent to 43,502 units for GM Certified.

“We’ve made concerted efforts to continue our sales gains throughout 2011,” said Larry Pryg, manager of GM Certified. “In doing so, we’ve seen continued success with our APR financing offers on a wide range of vehicles, and decided to extend the opportunity until March 31.”

Meanwhile, Chrysler’s CPO sales reached 9,274 units during February, an increase of 19.1 percent year-over-year. Through the year’s first two months, Chrysler has moved 17,198 CPO units, an improvement of 17.8 percent.

By brand, Dodge moved 3,603 CPO units in February (up 7.7 percent), Jeep sold 3,181 certified rides (up 30.5 percent) and the Chrysler division’s CPO sales climbed 24.2 percent to 2,490 units.

Continuing along, Honda’s national remarketing manager cheered another strong CPO month for both the Honda and Acura brands.
“February was another outstanding month for both HCUC and ACPV sales. For the month, HCUC sales were 17,438 units, an increase of 26 percent over February 2010,” Dan Crowe shared. “Likewise, Acura set a new February ACPV sales record of 3,988 units.

“This represented a 39-percent increase over February last year,” he continued. “So far, we (have) had a great start for the year and I anticipate it will continue in to the summer.”

The Honda division has moved 33,568 CPO units in two months of 2011 and is up 23.7 percent, while the Acura division has sold 8,236 CPO vehicles and is up 46.8 percent.

Over at Lexus, the brand enjoyed its strongest February on record for CPO sales, moving 5,666 units. This marked a 17.3-percent year-over-year rise.

Through two months of 2011, Lexus has sold 11,187 units, a 15.5-percent gain.

Continuing along, Mercedes-Benz saw its CPO sales fall 4.8 percent year-over-year in February as it sold 5,860 units. The automaker’s certified sales in the first two months of 2011 are down 0.6 percent at 12,303 vehicles.

Moving over to Nissan, its Infiniti division posted CPO sales of 969 units (up 11 percent) while its Nissan division’s CPO sales fell 4.8 percent to 6,067 units.
Year-to-date certified sales were at 11,908 units for Nissan (up 0.5 percent) and 1,786 units for Infiniti (up 10 percent).

Mazda moved 1,306 CPO units in February, compared to 354 in February 2010. Year-to-date sales were at 2,713 certified vehicles, compared to 806 units through the same point of 2010.

Volkswagen’s certified sales total for the month was 4,851 units, an upward movement of 65.3 percent. Through February, VW has posted a 61.8-percent CPO sales improvement, moving 9,248 units.

Next up was Audi, which saw its February certified sales climb 43.6 percent to 2,577 units. In the year’s first two months, it has moved 4,809 CPO units, up 38 percent from last year’s pace.

Volvo recorded certified sales of 887 units in February, down 32.6 percent from the prior-year period. Year-to-date sales stand at 1,775 units through February, representing a 35.8-percent drop.

Hyundai moved 2,739 CPO vehicles during the month, an improvement of 138.4 percent. Its year-to-date sum came out at 5,032 certified units, a 127.2-percent upswing.

Kia sold 641 certified units in February, which was 19.4 percent stronger than the year-ago period. Through February, it has moved 1,268 CPO vehicles (up 29 percent).

Subaru notched certified sales of 1,910 units, compared to 1,260 CPO units in the year-ago period. Its CPO sales for January and February combined are 3,862 units, up 49.4 percent compared to the first two months of 2010.

Among other automakers, Porsche reached certified sales of 640 units for the month, a 24-percent year-over-year increase.

Jaguar sold 369 CPO units last month, compared to 295 vehicles in February 2010. Land Rover’s CPO total came in at 191 units for February, down from 214 units a year ago.

Mini moved 182 CPO vehicles, up from 148 in February 2010. Saab sold 88 CPO units, compared to 228 vehicles a year ago.

Mitsubishi’s CPO sales came in at 51 units, versus 44 in the prior-year period. Bentley was estimated to have sold 30 certified vehicles in February.

Finally, Maserati’s certified sales reached 24 units last month, compared to 12 a year ago.