CARY, N.C. -

The first month of 2020 was the strongest January for the certified pre-owned market in a decade.

February then beat those sales by 10%.

That’s according to Monday’s Data Point report from Cox Automotive, which, citing Motor Intelligence, said there was 238,229 CPO sales in February.

That beats year-ago figures by 13% and puts year-to-date sales at 454,188, Cox Automotive said.

Consider this: in 2018 and 2019, each a record year, respective certified sales through two months were:

  • 2018: 415,140 units
  • 2019: 411,160 units

As Cox Automotive put it in the analysis, 2020 is already 40,000 sales ahead of both 2018 and 2019.

On a brand level, a third of certified sales this year have been either Toyotas, Honda or Chevrolets, Cox Automotive said. Meanwhile, half have been either one of those three or Fords, Nissans or Jeeps.

“Last year, Toyota, Honda and Chevy accounted for 32% of the total industry CPO sales reflecting that brands have consistent CPO share sales this year compared to 2019,” Cox Automotive said.

Looking at the overall used-car market, February showed a 4.4% hike in total used-car sales volume, according to Cox Automotive data shared in the latest Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index report.

The estimated total used-car SAAR for the month (39.8 million) bested both year-ago (39.4 million) and January figures (39.5 million).

Same goes for what Cox Automotive considers to be the used retail SAAR, which only includes sales originating at dealerships.

That figure (21.2 million for February) beat year-ago (19.8 million) and January (20.7 million) figures.