ATLANTA -

April’s retail supply trends followed March closely, as the demand for sportier cars continues to spike as summer nears.

That’s according to April’s installment of vehicle scarcity data that is provided monthly to Auto Remarketing from AutoTrader.com.

Much like in March, sporty cars continued to show scarcity across the nation during April.

The CPO BMW M Series took the No. 1 spot on the national certified pre-owned scarcity list, and the used Audi A6 took the No. 1 spot on the late-model used scarcity list.

Interestingly, neither of these vehicles were on those respective scarcity lists in the previous month.

On the other hand, many models that showed up on the lists in March continued to prove difficult to find in April, such as the Volkswagen Golf R, Mitsubishi Lance Evolution and the two sporty Subaru models (the Impreza WRX and BRZ).

One of the newcomers to the lists is Mazda, which had several new entrants to the scarcity lists in April.

Right on trend, all of those were from their lineup of sportier cars, AutoTrader.com pointed out.

Juan Flores, director of operations for AutoTrader.com's Trade-In Marketplace, told Auto Remarketing that April’s trend is a sign of a new wave of popularity for the automaker.

"Mazda’s entry into the CPO scarcity list further supports their strong value proposition, product quality, and continued consumer interest," he said. "As the news is saturated with major recalls for OEMs across several segments, Mazda continues to highlight their competitive product line-up. Consumers are taking notice of Mazda’s styling, best-in-class MPG, and low cost of ownership."

Mazda

  • For its CPO models, the CPO Mazda MAZDA2 came in at No. 6 in Boston, the CPO Mazda Miata MX5 came in at No. 8 in Los Angeles and the CPO Mazda MAZDASPEED3 came in at No. 8 in Washington, D.C. and No. 10 in Chicago. None of the CPO models were on the list in March.
  • On the late-model used side, the Used Mazda RX8 came in at No. 3 on the national list as well as No. 2 in Atlanta. The late-model used Mazda Miata MX5 came in at No. 2 in San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose. Much like with the CPO Mazda models, none of the late-model used models on the scarcity lists in April were on the lists in March.

Additional sporty units that touted big presences on the lists last month were the Mercedes-Benz CLA, Volkswagen Gold R, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and Subaru’s Impreza WRX and BRZ.

Looking beyond the sporty segment, there are a couple of potential trends to watch in scarcity, AutoTrader.com analysts said:  pre-owned Ram trucks and CPO Toyota SUVs.

The CPO Toyota Land Cruiser came in at No. 2 on the national scarcity list, and it was not on the list in the prior month.

 In the designated market areas, the CPO Toyota Sequoia came in at No. 5 in Atlanta (same as March), and the CPO Toyota FJ Cruiser came in at No. 5 in Boston (not on list prior month) and No. 10 in Atlanta (down three spots from March)

Highlighting the spots for the Dodge Ram, the CPO Ram 1500 came in at No. 5 in Chicago and No. 9 in Houston.

The CPO Ram 2500 came in at No. 10 in Los Angeles, and the late-model used Ram 2500 came in at No. 9 in Boston. None of the CPO Ram trucks were on the lists in those DMAs in March.

Flores says this is evidence of the Ram 1500 narrowing the gap behind truck segment leaders, such as the Chevrolet Silverado 1500.

"The Ram 1500 continues to press on the heels of the Full-Size truck segment leaders. In the last several months, the Ram 1500 has narrowed the sales gap, fast-approaching the Silverado 1500,” Flores said. "The Ram 1500 no longer just provides a great value proposition, but it also truly competes with the segment leaders across the most important categories of Power (Tow Capacity) and Performance (Horsepower). Apparently, the focus by the OEM to create a dedicated truck brand is paying dividends."

To see the full vehicle scarcity charts for April from AutoTrader.com, click below: