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By Joe Overby, Staff Writer
September 17, 2010
BANDON, Ore. — While each market performs somewhat differently, some certified pre-owned vehicle categories tend to be hot sellers, whereas others are perhaps not so popular.
So what has Art Spinella, of CNW Research, discovered? He found that near-luxury, luxury and hybrid CPO models have been healthy as of late, while smaller, budget cars have been the slowest to move.
That said, CPO trends do vary on a regional basis, he pointed out. …
And, of course, different automakers are seeing somewhat varying trends within their own certified operations, though some similarities exist.
Toyota, for one, has certainly experience segmentation in its CPO figures, said Jason Cropper, who is the Toyota Certified Used Vehicle Operations manager.
Specifically, Cropper said the Camry has been continuing its dominance in CPO sales, actually increasing its share from a year ago.
The automaker is also seeing the small SUV segment grow stronger, as well.
…"Similar to what the industry is seeing on the new-vehicle side of the business, we also see increased volume in the small SUV segment, which for us is the RAV4," he added. "RAV4 as a percentage of our total TCUV volume was up to 8 percent, while other SUVs and light trucks actually contracted as a percentage of our total TCUV volume."
As far as the reasons for why some vehicles sell better than others, Cropper pointed to consumer demand and the effect of the changing dynamics the new-vehicle market is having on inventory on the certified side. …
Offering the perspective of Volkswagen, Rob Martin, CPO manager for VW sales operations, explained: "We continue to see strength in the Jetta and Passat, but we are also seeing the start of our newer model vehicles entering the CPO fleet, including Tiguan and Routan.
"This is encouraging and by having vehicles to sell in other segments, the Volkswagen brand hopes to continue our growth in market share," Martin continued. …
