Happy CPO Month! May marks the second annual Cars.com CPO Month, in which we raise awareness for manufacturers’ certified pre-owned vehicles. To kick things off, let’s call out some of the ways CPOs have been in the news lately:
- CPOs are hot at Kia. In March, Kia Motors America enjoyed its best sales month ever for CPOs, selling nearly 7,700 CPOs. Kia attributed the robust sales partly to an expansion of its Quality Assurance inspection program.
- CPO programs are getting more strategic at Audi. Recently Audi disclosed that building up its CPO program is one of its important areas of near-term focus. Audi told Automotive News that along with rolling out new products, Audi is revising its CPO program to make dealerships more profitable following a configuration of its loaner program, which improved dealership profits.
- CPOs are becoming more topical as parents plan for their kids’ college expenses. The New York Times recently published an article about how automobiles can be a crucial purchase to help students as they prepare for life at a university abroad. The article cites the importance of a CPO as an affordable option that can give parents additional peace of mind.
At Cars.com, we’re excited to help dealerships increase visibility for your CPOs on the lot and on our site. Dealers tell us that shoppers are asking about CPOs, and the more effort a dealer puts into building up their inventory, the more CPO shoppers they attract[i]. In fact, dealers that certify 75-percent-to-100 percent of their inventory believe that consumers always or often inquire about CPO vehicles. Bottom line: CPOs are growing in importance, and consumers respond to them. What are you doing to raise awareness for CPOs and educate consumers about them?
[i] Cars.com Dealership CPO Survey, Summer 2016.
