Strong Economy and Low Gas Prices Drove CPO Shoppers to Trucks, Large SUVs in June

Staff Report From Georgia CEO

Friday, July 17th, 2015

With summer gas prices at a five-year low and the economy going strong, shoppers looking for certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicles on Autotrader.com flocked to trucks and big SUVs last month. These insights are the result of an analysis of Autotrader's Trend Engine data, which measures shopping activity on the site each month. Of the top 20 most-popular CPO vehicles, five were trucks and five were large SUVs.

"Americans' love affair with large SUVs and trucks has been fueled by several factors, from low prices at the pump to the bustling economy," said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst at Autotrader. "In addition to cheap gas driving people to larger—and less fuel efficient—new and used vehicles, the recent uptick in housing starts and construction puts people back to work who need trucks for their jobs. Steadier employment also means people are using SUVs for not only work but also recreation. A growing pool of certified pre-owned models enable them to get into quality vehicles at a pre-owned price but with the peace of mind that warranties provide."

Overall, five trucks and five SUVs made the list of most-popular CPO vehicles on Autotrader.com in June, with four of the five trucks earning placement in the top 10. The CPO Ford F-150 took the top spot, with the CPO Chevrolet Silverado 1500 coming in at No. 2. The CPO GMC Sierra 1500 and CPO Toyota Tacoma came in back-to-back at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. The CPO Toyota Tundra landed at No. 18.  

On the SUV front, the Jeep Grand Cherokee was the fifth most-popular CPO vehicle on the site, and four other SUVs also made the top 20 list: the CPO Chevrolet Tahoe at No. 8, the CPO Jeep Wrangler at No. 12, the CPO Toyota Highlander at No. 13, and the CPO Ford Explorer at No. 19. 

The full list of most-popular CPO models on Autotrader follows:

June 2015 Rank
Make
Model
1
Ford
F-150
2
Chevrolet
Silverado 1500
3
Honda
Accord
4
BMW
3 Series
5
Jeep
Grand Cherokee
6
Ford
Mustang
7
Mercedes-Benz
E Class
8
Chevrolet
Tahoe
9
GMC
Sierra C/K1500
10
Toyota
Tacoma
11
Porsche
911/911Turbo
12
Jeep
Wrangler
13
Toyota
Camry
14
Chevrolet
Corvette
15
Toyota
Highlander
16
Mercedes-Benz
C Class
17
Chevrolet
Camaro
18
Toyota
Tundra
19
Ford
Explorer
20
Honda
Civic