BANDON, Ore. -

Thanks to better inventory and credit conditions, the January used-vehicle sales total came in about 50,000 units higher than CNW Research president Art Spinella predicted.

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CNW determined the monthly total settled at 2,006,423 units — the first time the January figure surpassed 2 million since the opening month of 2007.

“Originally we were looking at this year to be a 39-million unit year,” Spinella shared with Auto Remarketing.

“We were looking at the numbers again and if this kind of increase continues, the industry might hit 40 million, especially if the financing portion for the private party sales loosens up,” he continued. “Even if the private-party market doesn’t grow as quickly as it might, you’re still looking, at this rate, at close to a 40-million unit year.

“At minimum, it’s another 500,000 over the projection we had just a month ago,” Spinella added.

The breakdown of the January total went this way:

—Franchise dealers: 706,060 units or 35.2 percent of all used sales.

—Independent dealers: 716,895 units or 35.7 percent of all used sales.

—Private party sales: 583,468 units or 29.08 of all used sales.

The month-over-month percentage rise for franchise dealers was 2.49 percent. CNW found the month-over-month climb by independents was even stronger at 5.61 percent.

Spinella insisted greater wholesale supply and consumer credit availability pushed dealer sales performance higher for the month.

“Somebody looking for a reasonably new, 5-, 6- or 7-year-old vehicle not only was able to find those vehicles at dealerships but also were able to get financing for them,” Spinella surmised. “That’s a big change from a year ago when credit was still reasonably tight and on the private party side it was virtually impossible to get any kind of financing.

“Banks and credit unions are actually actively searching for people now as opposed to waiting for someone to walk in and ask for a loan,” he continued. “They’re seeing the potential there for making some money, and they’re feeling a little bit more comfortable about the ability of consumers to repay it basing it on a hopefully improving economy.”

Spinella also touched on another wholesale avenue that’s especially vital to franchise dealers. He sees an “off-lease car wave” coming as units with expiring 36- and 42-month lease contracts make their way into used-vehicle inventories.

In discussing trends beyond the raw January data, Spinella noticed two particular vehicle segments performing well last month with indications of continued strong gains throughout 2011.

Spinella first mentioned SUVs, which he said are being pushed on the wholesale side by consumers trading in older versions of the Ford Explorer.

He then moved on to smaller cars, a segment often connected with fuel-price fluctuations.

“If you have a small car that has all of the gadgets in it, those are moving off lots extremely fast than if you have the same vehicle that’s just the base model,” Spinella emphasized. “People are looking for vehicles that have all of the bells and whistles, good gas mileage and relatively low cost. That bodes well for the small car segment.”

Overall, Spinella thinks lot management should take careful notice of what kind of vehicle a potential buyer might be trading. It’s likely they’ll go for a similar model.

“You can see from the new-car side what kind of vehicles are coming in on the used-car side because, for the most part, people are still trading same-segment to same-segment They’re not moving down when they buy another vehicle,” Spinella surmised.

Finally, Spinella believes consumers’ pent-up demand for vehicles also remains strong. He was still sifting through January data to pinpoint specifics, but overall buyers have shortened their purchase delay.

“Those people who were waiting are not waiting as long as they planned to a month ago. They’re buying sooner,” he indicated.

And because January started with a strong sales total, Spinella concluded that “the year looks pretty good.”