AJAX, Ontario -

The dearth in vehicles coming off lease has been a topic of great concern within the certified pre-owned programs at automakers in the U.S., as these units are typically a vital source of CPO-worthy inventory.

But are dealers experiencing the same issues in Canada?

Based on what most automakers are telling Auto Remarketing Canada, off-lease supply appears to still be relatively strong here, although there was some concern expressed.

As far as sales go, the year seemed to have been fairly solid throughout the country, as automakers recently reported full-year certified sales to Auto Remarketing Canada and offered their perspectives on off-lease supply.

Starting with Volkswagen Canada, the company said it is “delighted” with its strong results from 2011 and has high hopes for this year, as well. VW is looking for lease returns to be robust, giving its dealers a healthy pipeline of CPO inventory.

“Volkswagen Canada is delighted with our results in 2011, and we are looking forward to an even-better result in 2012,” said Thomas Tetzlaff, manager of media relations for VW Canada.

“Based upon the growth we have experienced in new vehicle sales in the last seven years, we are anticipating a significant number of lease returns this year, which we hope will help satisfy demand for our pre-owned products,” he continued. “It is always difficult to predict, as end-of-term customers may always elect to purchase their leased vehicle at the end of their contract; however, we feel well-positioned at this point in time.”

As for its sales results, the automaker sold 11,448 certified vehicles in 2011, compared to 11,153 CPO units in 2010. Its December CPO sales were at 818 units, up from 752 certified sales in December 2010.

Next up was Mercedes-Benz Canada. Like VW, the company expressed confidence in its off-lease supply.

“Our used supply of off-lease vehicles grew in 2011 and will grow again in 2012. This was a result of the Mercedes-Benz and smart growth over the past number of years and our continued commitment to leasing,” said Neal Bodack, vice president of pre-owned, fleet and remarketing.

“Consumers continue to seek quality luxury certified pre-owned vehicles and Mercedes-Benz is well positioned to fill these needs with a comprehensive certified pre-owned program in which the entire dealer body is participating in,” he continued. “All our pre-owned certified units go through a 150-point certification inspection and come with a standard warranty up to six years or 120,000 kilometers.”

Sharing results, Mercedes-Benz posted its strongest year of all time for pre-owned sales with 13,079 units sold, a 25-percent year-over-year hike. For December, its pre-owned sales came in at 884 vehicles, compared to 737 sales in December 2010.

Moving over to Subaru Canada, the automaker has been on fairly solid ground when it comes to off-lease supply, said Tom Opratko, the manger of business management and certified pre-owned.

“Unlike the rest of the industry, Subaru Canada’s lease penetration has remained relatively consistent over the past several years. In turn, our dealers have been taking advantage of their lease portfolios to source quality product for the Subaru CPO program,” he noted.

Subaru moved 358 certified vehicles in 2011, down from 362 sales a year ago. In December, it moved 28 CPO vehicles, up from 15 certified sales in the year-ago period.

Sharing his perspective on the inventory situation in Canada, Emanuel Lichtinshtein — who is the national fleet sales, CPO and remarketing manager at Volvo Cars of Canada — had this to say: “In 2012, we are expecting a decline in lease returns as a result from the 2008-2009 market situation. Inventory levels of three- to four-year old vehicles will be limited and prices will increase.”

He went on to emphasize that given this dynamic, “retailers will probably keep higher percentages of (lease) returns on their lot. One good source for CPO worthy vehicles will be Volvo’s ex-daily rentals which are model-year 2011 and model-year 2012, relatively low mileage and in excellent condition.”

Looking at the yearly results for Volvo, officials said the company moved 1,102 CPO units from April to December, compared to 586 vehicles in the same period of 2010. (The company re-launched its CPO program in April 2011).

It sold 95 CPO vehicles last month, compared to 65 in December 2010.

Moving on, Audi sold 4,067 CPO units in 2011, an 18.4-percent uptick and the strongest CPO year on record for the brand. In December, sales dipped 1.3 percent to 237 units.

Sharing commentary on the off-lease dynamic for his brand, Jonathan Breton — who is Audi Canada’s manager of CPO and corporate sales — noted: “Looking into 2012, we will see fewer lease maturities scheduled than in 2011, however our dealers remain engaged and committed to our Audi certified pre-owned business. With record new-vehicle sales, we will continue to benefit from a growing number of vehicles in operation, meaning more opportunities for trade-ins will exist this year.”

Moving along to BMW Group, its BMW and Mini brands each enjoyed record results for pre-owned.

Specifically, the BMW brand hit pre-owned sales of 13,098 for 2011 (up 2.5 percent) while finishing the year with 937 sales in December (down 11.3 percent).

Mini moved 1,986 pre-owned vehicles in 2011 (up 40.9 percent) and sold 102 vehicles in the final month (off 20.3 percent).

At Honda Canada, the Honda brand moved 19,469 CPO units in 2011, compared to 19,713 certified sales in 2010. Its December CPO sales came in at 1,425, up from 1,218 certified sales in December 2010.

As for the Acura brand, its full-year numbers included 2,806 CPO sales, as compared to the 2,158 CPO vehicles it sold in 2010. The brand closed the year by selling 252 certified vehicles in December, an increase from the 213 CPO sales in the final month of 2010.

Continuing on to Kia Canada, it posted 1,846 CPO sales in 2011, compared to 1,979 CPO sales in 2010. In December, it sold 100 certified units, down from 133 CPO sales in December 2010.