ATLANTA -

Success of Korean automakers in challenging Toyota and Honda in the new-vehicle market appears to also be spilling into the certified pre-owned arena.

AutoTrader.com discovered Hyundai captured five of the top 20 spots for CPO “Big Movers” in September. That finding came as a part of the Used/CPO Car Insights Report, which provides analysis of monthly activity for both used (non-CPO) and CPO vehicles on AutoTrader.com.

To be a “big mover,” analysts recapped that a vehicle must show significant increases in consumer interest month-over-month. The CPO Hyundai Elantra increased its share of consumer interest on the site by 31.2 percent in September, making the second-biggest month-over-month move on the site.

Following in the Elantra’s trajectory were the Hyundai Tucson with a 27.1 percent increase, the Hyundai Genesis with a 24.4 percent climb, the Hyundai Santa Fe with a 17.7 percent rise and the Hyundai Sonata with a 17.3 percent jump.

Nevertheless, AutoTrader.com determined Toyota and Honda remained strong on the CPO front, capturing a combined six out of 20 spots on the list of most-viewed CPO vehicles in September.

Of those, there were four Toyota models: the Tundra at No. 4, the Tacoma at No. 5, the Camry at No. 8 and the Highlander at No. 17.

Analysts added that perennial favorites from Honda, the Accord and Civic, came in at Nos. 2 and 13, respectively.

“With their inclusion on the list of most-viewed CPO cars in September, Toyota and Honda are still very strong players in the market,” surmised Rick Wainschel, vice president of automotive insights at AutoTrader.com.

“However, the reason we watch the big movers on the site is because they can surface interesting early trends, and seeing one automaker dominate the list — particularly one that has made ongoing advances in terms of product quality, innovative programs and overall sales — is certainly telling,” Wainschel continued.

Segment Tracker: Luxury Car Segment Captures Most Consumer Interest for Used and CPO

By segment, AutoTrader.com noted luxury vehicles captured the biggest share of interest from consumers shopping for both used (non-CPO) and CPO vehicles on the site.

In fact, the non-CPO luxury vehicle segment increased 0.4 points in share from the month prior.

BMW’s 3 Series was the most popular pre-owned luxury car on the site, showing up at No. 1 on the CPO list and No. 3 on the non-CPO list.

In addition to the 3 Series, BMW had two other vehicles on the list of most-viewed used vehicles: the BMW 5 Series at No. 18 and the BMW M Series at No. 19.
On the list of most-viewed CPO vehicles, BMW had the X Series at No. 9 and 5 Series at No. 12, in addition to the 3 Series in the No. 1 spot. 

Price Tracker: Civic and Accord See Big Year-Over-Year Increases

Asking prices for used and CPO cars have been steadily on the rise over the past year, according to AutoTrader.com.

The site believes prices have pushed up by numerous economic factors including supply and demand issues, fuel prices and supply-side issues in the new-vehicle market.

While an in-depth month-over-month analysis showed that prices have started to level off and even decrease for numerous models, analysts found prices for the majority of used and CPO vehicles are still higher than they were one year ago.

In September, 10 out of the top 20 most-viewed used cars and 17 out of the top 20 most-viewed CPO cars showed year-over-year increases in median asking price. However, AutoTrader.com said it was the Honda Civic and Honda Accord that stood out on each list.

The used Honda Civic’s asking price spiked 14.8 percent ($1,924) year-over-year, and the used Honda Accord’s asking price rose 12.2 percent ($1,831) year-over-year.

On the CPO front, the Honda Civic’s price increased 9.6 percent ($1,542) and the Honda Accord’s price moved 10.2 percent ($1,825) higher.

“Like Toyota, Honda has some ground to make up on the new car front, but its ever popular Civic and Accord are still in high demand and are commanding notably higher premiums this year,” Wainschel pointed out.

“As the economic challenges that influenced major price changes earlier in the year subside, consumers will have to keep an eye on the gaps between new and used vehicle prices so they can make the best decision that is right for them,” he added.