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TORRANCE, Calif. — In the midst of the third straight month of the industry's certified pre-owned sales showing year-over-year improvement, best-ever CPO numbers were achieved for the second consecutive time for one brand.

During May — the final full month before Norm Olson, who is the sales operations manager for Toyota Certified Used Vehicles, was set to retire — Toyota recorded an all-time CPO sales high for the second month in a row.

The Japanese brand was one of several automakers to enjoy a highly fruitful month for certified sales.

According to Autodata Corp., the industry saw 149,012 certified units sold in the U.S. during May, which marked a 2.5-percent improvement from the same period of 2009. The disparity in year-to-date sales slowed to 2.9 percent, as there were 662,327 CPO vehicles sold through the end of May.

Thorough the first five months of 2009, certified sales had reached 682,122 units. 

Toyota, in particular, moved 31,148 CPO units, a 20.4-percent year-over-year gain and 58 vehicles stronger than the previous record, which was set in April. So far this year, Toyota has sold 126,531 certified vehicles, an improvement of 14.8 percent from the same period of 2009.

"May '10 was an example of another 'perfect storm,' with a strong National Toyota Financial Services APR, incentive contests, record certifications (inventory build) and dealer sales momentum that wouldn't stop," explained Olson, who retires Friday.

"All regions set a best-ever record for May and five areas set an all-time best-ever record in sales for the month; it just keeps getting better," he continued. "With the active support of top Toyota management, strong field support, the best dealers in the industry, with TCUV nothing is impossible."

While a replacement for Olson has not yet been named, an announcement is likely in a few weeks.

Lexus also enjoyed a best-ever month with CPO sales of 6,582 vehicles. This was 422 units higher than the prior record set in December and an 8.8-percent improvement from May 2009. Yearly sales have reached 27,929 CPO units, a 13.7-percent gain from 2009. 

Over at Nissan, its brands combined to sell 7,931 certified units, which represented the second-highest CPO sales total ever for the automaker. It also marked an 18.5-percent improvement from May 2009.

So far in 2010, CPO sales have totaled 37,316 units, compared with 33,174 units a year ago.

The Infiniti division posted sales of 1,049 CPO units, up 4.3 percent year-over-year, while the Nissan division enjoyed 21-percent growth with 6,882 certified vehicles sold.

Neal Zirkle, senior manager of CPO and pre-owned vehicles for Nissan North America, praised the "strong support" from Nissan's captive arm for both divisions for helping the automaker achieve a "CPO victory."

"Trucks and ladder-on-frame SUVs lead the increase as the new-vehicle incentives on sedans heated up across the industry," Zirkle noted.

"Availability of CSUVs, and large SUV (Armada and QX56) continues to decrease impacting prices and sales in these categories," he added. "Nissan North America continues our digital marketing campaign in June with retail messaging for both brands running on major used-car sites." 

Zirkle shared recently that he will be moving over to an assignment in dealer events/dealer relations with the automaker to take the place of Marty Gleason, who in turn, will assume Zirkle's post as senior manager of certified pre-owned and used vehicles. 

Zirkle pointed out that the move is slated for some time between June 1 and Sept. 1, as both departments have pending initiatives/activities. So until Sept. 1, Zirkle will continue to head up Nissan's CPO arm, while Gleason maintains his role in dealer events/dealer relations.

Continuing on, Volkswagen posted a monthly sales record, as it moved 5,004 CPO models during May. This total represented a 16-percent upswing from 2009. So far in 2010, VW's certified sales have reached 19,868, which is off 1.6 percent from the same period of last year.

"We are very pleased with our May result. Our dealers have done a great job growing inventory, despite higher acquisition costs, and also doing a great job of selling the value of our CPO program, and introducing new customers to the Volkswagen brand," stated Rob Martin, CPO manager for VW Sales Operations.

Audi sold 2,595 CPO vehicles last month, compared to 2,838 units in May 2009. Through the first five months of 2010, Audi has moved 10,915 certified units, down from 13,357 vehicles a year ago.

Mercedes-Benz reported certified sales of 6,964 vehicles, down 0.4 percent from a year ago. Year-to-date sales, however, are up 5.9 percent at 34,898 units.

Among domestic automakers, Ford notched 11,987 CPO vehicle sales. This was down 2.6 percent from May 2009. Yearly sales through May are at 57,671 units, an 8.7-percent dip from last year's pace.

By brand, Lincoln Mercury moved 1,716 certified units in May, which is 9.6-percent softer than the year-ago total. There were 10,271 Ford brand CPO vehicles sold, representing a 1.4-percent dip.

At General Motors, its certified brands combined to sell 25,641 units in May, compared with 33,145 in May 2009. Through May, it has moved 122,730 CPO vehicles, compared with 170,375 units in the same period of 2009.

For comparison purposes, Saab results are not included in the monthly or yearly data for either period.

GM Certified Used Vehicles had May sales of 23,399 units, and this total includes Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac and Saturn. In May 2009, it sold 29,905 vehicles, which includes sales for Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Saturn.

"This month GM Certified Used Vehicles saw modest improvement in sales and we continued to hold a stable share of the market for the second consecutive month," shared Paul Pejza, manager of GM Certified Used Vehicles.

"We just launched some great incentives on the Chevy Impala and Pontiac G6, with APR financing rates as low as 1.9 percent for the month of June," he added. "This will provide some great momentum going into the third quarter and should fuel continued growth this month."

Saab sold 248 CPO units in May, versus 488 certified vehicles a year ago.

Meanwhile, Chrysler moved 9,474 CPO vehicles, an 8.8-percent improvement over May 2009. So far this year, it has posted certified sales of 43,318 units, a 1.7-percent dip from the same period last year.

By brand, Dodge sold 3,600 certified vehicles, up 2.9 percent from a year ago. Jeep's CPO sales reached 3,263 units, compared with 2,555 vehicles a year ago.

The Chrysler brand reported CPO sales of 2,611 vehicles, versus 2,657 units last year.

Continuing on, Honda's certified sales reached 19,222 units during May, a 19.6-percent uptick from May 2009. So far this year, it has moved 79,566 CPO models, an 18.1-percent improvement.

Acura's certified sales were 4,160 units last month, up from 3,961 a year ago. Through May, CPO sales are at 17,099 units, down 2.1 percent.

BMW reported certified sales of 10,169 units, down 2.3 percent year-over-year. Year-to-date sales are at 48,357 CPO vehicles, down marginally (0.1 percent) from last year.

Volvo's CPO sales reached 1,722 units, compared with 2,017 vehicles in May 2009. So far in 2010, it has moved 7.647 units, a 23.6-percent dip from the total through the first five months of last year.

Subaru posted certified sales of 1,652 vehicles, a 20.1-percent upswing. So far this year, it has sold 7,407 CPO units, 27.6-percent gain.

Hyundai generated 1,753 CPO sales, a 41-percent climb year-over-year. Year-to-date sales have reached 7,307 units, a 36.1-percent hike.

Among other brands, Kia was estimated to have sold 598 certified units, compared to 421 vehicles a year ago.

Mazda's CPO sales hit 413 units in May, compared to 421 models in May 2009.

Next up was Porsche, which sold 810 CPO vehicles last month, up 16.9 percent year-over-year.

Jaguar recorded CPO sales of 365 units in May, compared with 531 last year, while Land Rover's CPO sales hit 272 units, down from 443 vehicles in May 2009.

Certified sales for Mini reached 220, off slightly from CPO sales of 222 units a year ago.

Mitsubishi sold 30 CPO units, down from 103 last year. Bentley was estimated to have sold 30 CPO units, down from an estimated 32 models in May 2009.

Maserati sold 22 CPO vehicles, compared to two in May 2009, which was its first month of reporting certified sales data.