ATLANTA – February 06, 2012 –Analysts at AutoTrader.com noted two major trends in the pre-owned vehicle arena, which are highlighted in the January edition of the Used/CPO Car Insights Report. First, shoppers on AutoTrader.com showed significantly increased interest in a number of CPO and late-model luxury vehicles. Outside of the luxury arena, the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Wrangler also garnered significant increases in interest from shoppers.

For luxury vehicles, seven of the Top 20 Most-Viewed CPO Vehicles on AutoTrader.com in December—as well as 10 out of the 20 vehicles on the list of Hot CPO and Late-Model Used Vehicles—were from the luxury segment. The CPO Luxury Car segment as a whole also showed a significant increase, increasing 1.2 share points month-over-month, a rather impressive feat considering that such large month-over-month share point changes typically only occur for new cars.

Of the seven luxury vehicles on the list of Most-Viewed CPO Vehicles, the CPO BMW 3 Series remained in the No. 1 position, but it was Mercedes-Benz that had the biggest increase in interest for its vehicles. The CPO Mercedes-Benz E Class leapt seven spots month-over-month to land at No. 9 on the list, and the Mercedes-Benz C Class leapt six spots in the same timeframe to land at No. 12. These were the largest month-over-month increases of any vehicle in the top 20.

In addition to the Top 20 Most-Viewed Vehicles, the AutoTrader.com Trend Engine tracks which pre-owned vehicles are “hot” each month. Hot vehicles are defined as vehicles that have garnered significantly more interest in a given month compared to the average interest shoppers have shown over the previous 12 months. On the list of Hot CPO and Late-Model Used Vehicles for December, ten out of the 20 hot vehicles on the list were luxury, with eight of those being CPO. Lexus and Mercedes-Benz both took three spots each on the list.

“Luxury automakers made big advertising pushes at the end of the year, and we believe that the increase in interest for near-new luxury vehicles increased as a result,” said Rick Wainschel, vice president of automotive insights at AutoTrader.com. “Additionally, some of the positive economic indicators such as the increase in consumer confidence and decrease in the unemployment rate may have also contributed, as shoppers tend to look at more expensive vehicles, such as luxury cars, when they are feeling better about the economy overall.”

The second major trend was the impressive increases in interest for two popular models from the Chrysler Group: the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Grand Cherokee. The CPO Jeep Grand Cherokee rose an impressive 16 spots year-over-year on the list of Most-Viewed CPO Vehicles in December, and the CPO Jeep Wrangler also rose an impressive 12 spots in the same timeframe. On the list of the Most Viewed Late-Model Used Vehicles (non-CPO), the Jeep Grand Cherokee rose nine spots year-over-year, and the Jeep Wrangler rose one spot to land at No. 5. This increase is likely attributable to the influx of the recently redesigned models into the pre-owned arena. 

Full analysis of these trends, as well as downloadable graphics, can be found in the January Edition of the Used/CPO Car Insights Report which is brought to you by the AutoTrader.com Trend Engine.

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 millions of 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 one other auto marketing brand, AutoTraderClassics.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.

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