Hyundai Turns Up the Heat on Toyota and Honda in the Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Arena

ATLANTA, Oct. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The rise of the Korean automakers in the wake of Toyota and Honda's struggles earlier in the year has been well documented on the new-car front, but it appears that these Japanese automakers may soon be facing stiff competition in the certified pre-owned (CPO) arena as well. According to the Used/CPO Car Insights Report, which provides analysis of monthly activity for both used (non-CPO) and CPO vehicles on the AutoTrader.com site, Hyundai captured five of the top 20 spots for CPO "Big Movers" in September.

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To be a "big mover," a vehicle must show significant increases in consumer interest month-over-month. The CPO Hyundai Elantra increased its share of consumer interest on the site by 31.2% in September, making the second-biggest month-over-month move on the site. Following in the Elantra's trajectory were the Hyundai Tucson with a 27.1% increase, the Hyundai Genesis with a 24.4% increase, the Hyundai Santa Fe with a 17.7% increase and the Hyundai Sonata with a 17.3% increase.

Nevertheless, Toyota and Honda remained strong on the CPO front, capturing a combined six out of 20 spots on the list of most-viewed CPO vehicles in September. Of those, there were four Toyota Models: the Toyota Tundra at No. 4, the Toyota Tacoma at No. 5, the Toyota Camry at No. 8 and the Toyota Highlander at No. 17. Perennial favorites from Honda, the Accord and Civic, came in at Nos. 2 and 13, respectively.

"With their inclusion on the list of most-viewed CPO cars in September, Toyota and Honda are still very strong players in the market," said Rick Wainschel, vice president of automotive insights at AutoTrader.com. "However, the reason we watch the big movers on the site is because they can surface interesting early trends, and seeing one automaker dominate the list—particularly one that has made ongoing advances in terms of product quality, innovative programs and overall sales—is certainly telling."

Segment Tracker: Luxury Car Segment Captures Most Consumer Interest for Used and CPO

By segment, luxury cars captured the biggest share of interest from consumers shopping for both used (non-CPO) and CPO vehicles on the site. In fact, the non-CPO luxury car segment increased 0.4 points in share from the month prior. BMW's 3 Series was the most popular pre-owned luxury car on the site, showing up at No. 1 on the CPO list and No. 3 on the non-CPO list. In addition to the 3 Series, BMW had two other vehicles on the list of most-viewed used vehicles: the BMW 5 Series at No. 18 and the BMW M Series at No. 19. On the list of most-viewed CPO vehicles, BMW had the X Series at No. 9 and 5 Series at No. 12, in addition to the 3 Series in the No. 1 spot.  

Price Tracker: Civic and Accord See Big Year-Over-Year Increases

Asking prices for used and CPO cars have been steadily on the rise over the past year, pushed up by numerous economic factors including supply and demand issues, fuel prices and supply-side issues in the new car market. While an in-depth month-over-month analysis shows that prices have started to level off and even decrease for numerous models, prices for the majority of used and CPO vehicles are still higher than they were one year ago.

In September, 10 out of the top 20 most-viewed used cars and 17 out of the top 20 most-viewed CPO cars showed year-over-year increases in median asking price. However, it was the Honda Civic and Honda Accord that stood out on each list. The used Honda Civic's asking price increased 14.8% ($1,924) year-over-year, and the used Honda Accord's asking price increased 12.2% ($1,831) year-over-year.  On the CPO front, The Honda Civic's price increased 9.6% ($1,542) and the Honda Accord's price increased 10.2% ($1,825).

"Like Toyota, Honda has some ground to make up on the new car front, but its ever popular Civic and Accord are still in high demand and are commanding notably higher premiums this year," noted Wainschel. "As the economic challenges that influenced major price changes earlier in the year subside, consumers will have to keep an eye on the gaps between new and used vehicle prices so they can make the best decision that is right for them."

About AutoTrader.com

Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com, created in 1997, is the Internet's ultimate automotive marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location millions of new cars, used cars and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of auto dealers and private sellers and is a leading online resource for auto dealers, individuals and manufacturers to advertise and market their vehicles to in-market shoppers. The company also provides a robust suite of software tools for dealers and manufacturers to help them manage and market their vehicle inventory and display advertising on the Internet. AutoTrader.com continues to grow key business metrics, including revenue, profitability and site traffic. Today, AutoTrader.com attracts more than 15 million unique monthly visitors who utilize the site to review descriptions, photos and videos of vehicles for sale; research and compare vehicles; review pricing and specials; and read auto-related content like buying and selling tips and editorial coverage of major auto shows and automotive trends. AutoTrader.com operates two other auto marketing brands, AutoTraderClassics.com and AutoTraderLatino.com. AutoTrader.com also owns used vehicle management software company vAuto, Kelley Blue Book (Kbb.com), HomeNet Automotive, a leading provider of online inventory management and merchandising solutions for the automotive retail industry and VinSolutions, a leading provider of end-to-end solution platforms for dealers.  AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. Providence Equity Partners is a 25 percent owner of the company and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor. For more information, please visit www.autotrader.com.

SOURCE AutoTrader.com