Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle Sales Continue To Soar Through May

June 14, 2021 11:04 am

As Ford Authority has reported extensively in recent months, the used vehicle market continues to be red hot. With new vehicle inventories dwindling courtesy of the semiconductor chip shortage, consumers have turned to the used market, sending prices soaring to new record highs. Dealers continue to try and boost inventory in any way possible, including importing vehicles from other countries. And while the used car market, in general, is booming, so are certified pre-owned vehicle sales.

Certified pre-owned vehicle sales reached an all-time high back in March, but have already trumped that record in the month of May, according to Cox Automotive. Dealers sold a total of 268,452 CPO units last month, which represents a 4 percent increase from April and a 13 percent year-over-year jump. For the year, dealers have moved 1,224,522 CPO vehicles, a 25 percent increase over the first five months of 2019.

If sales continue at that pace, 2021 would break the record set in 2019, when dealers sold a grand total of 2.80 million CPO vehicles. Currently, 2021 CPO sales are outpacing 2019’s by 247,189 units, in total.

Meanwhile, Ford Blue Advantage – the automaker’s new online certified pre-owned vehicle marketplace – launched back in February, and has already proven incredibly helpful for Blue Oval dealers struggling to obtain new vehicle inventory because of the ongoing global semiconductor chip shortage.

As Ford Authority explained last year, Ford Blue Advantage is designed to help dealers better compete against competitors like CarMax by offering many of the same benefits that have helped those retailers enjoy explosive growth, including guaranteed pricing, home delivery, and a vehicle return policy.

Currently, estimates for how much longer the chip shortage might last range from a few weeks to a few years, so it’s unclear if CPO sales can continue to rise at their current, rapid rate.

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By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.