U.S. sales of certified preowned vehicles rose in August, besting the larger used market, Cox Automotive said.

CPO sales were up about 15% year-over-year to over 243,000 units and by 5% month-over-month. So far this year, they’re up 8% over the same period in 2022.

The sales have been rising at an easy pace, Cox Senior Manager of Economic and Industry Insights Chris Frey pointed out. “Monthly sales increases this year have been rising gradually, rather than the sporadic monthly levels of 2019, or even the trepid 2022 monthly sales rates after April.”

Overall used-vehicle sales fell by almost 8% month-over-month to three million, which Cox attributed in part to some June sales being reported in July, and it said the used sales pace is up year-over-year to about 35.2 million.

“Our CPO forecast likely will be upgraded, but we will need to witness more improvements to substantiate that adjustment,” Frey noted. “Still, CPO sales have shown a lot of resilience given the price and interest rate environment, and that bodes well for the next few months’ sales figures.”

Honda’s CPO deliveries outpaced its big-brand competitors on month-to-month improvement, Ram’s the biggest dip, Cox said.

LEARN MORE: Used Sales Down But Not Out