Certified pre-owned (CPO) sales reached 228,237 in December, up 1.3% year over year, with an increase of nearly 3,000 units from December 2022. This represents a significant month-over-month increase, with CPO sales growing by 22,374 units or 10.9%.

“Unlike overall December used sales, CPO delivered a great end-of-year gift,” said Chris Frey, senior manager of Economic and Industry Insights at Cox Automotive. “Luxury helped move the needle, registering over 24% of all CPO sales in 2023.”

December CPO Sales

CPO Hits 2023 Sales Forecast with Strong December

Full-year CPO sales exceeded 2.6 million units, up 6.6%, or 163,556 units compared to 2022.

“With a strong December to close out the year, total CPO sales hit the Cox Automotive forecast,” noted Frey. “Luxury sales, which are typically strong in December, did not disappoint with a whopping 17.7% increase from November and pushed overall CPO sales well over the 2.6 million bar.”

CPO MONTHLY SALES

When considering brands, Asian brand CPO sales are up close to 10% year to date, while European brands are up less than 5%. Meanwhile, the Detroit Three continue to lag, with only a 3% increase.

CPO continues to outperform the overall used-vehicle market. For comparison, according to Cox Automotive estimates based on vehicle registration data, total used-vehicle sales in December finished near 2.6 million units, up 2.1%, around 54,000 units, from December 2022. Used retail sales are estimated to have finished December near 1.4 million, up 2.6% from last year’s volume, or just over 35,000 units. Estimates based on registration data indicate that the used-vehicle sales pace — both total and retail — in December improved compared to the market’s pace of one year ago. The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) is estimated to have finished at 37.0 million, above last December’s pace of 35.2 and ahead of November’s revised 35.6 million level.