Did you know that you can lease a certified pre-owned (CPO) car? Most people have no idea, and most brands don’t offer leases on CPO cars. Even for brands that do lease CPO cars like Honda and Acura, they account for less than 1% of the company’s annual volume. Honda, however, is hoping to increase CPO leasing to 5%.
CPO Leasing Boom?
How do Honda and and its Acura luxury brand plan to increase CPO lease numbers by 500%? Dan Rodriguez, American Honda’s director of auto remarketing and fleet operations, recently explained how to industry publication Automotive News.
Honda will expand its CPO lease program through new features that streamline the process. Those features will include a new online calculator and a CPO lease page on the brand’s retail site.
According to data from Kelley Blue Book parent company Cox Automotive, CPO sales accounted for 15% of the total retail used vehicle market as of June 2024.
This October, Honda will also extend the non-powertrain limited warranty on Acura and Honda CPO vehicles to two years/100,000 miles. The powertrain warranty is already valid for seven years/100,000 miles.
CPO Leasing Is a Recent Innovation for Honda
Honda launched its CPO lease program in December 2023, explaining that it is most beneficial to first-time and younger buyers.
“Higher new-vehicle prices make the ability to lease Honda certified used vehicles an even more critical gateway to vehicle ownership for young and first-time buyers,” Rodriguez said in a press release last December.
Honda’s program allows customers to lease CPO used vehicles that are six years old or newer with fewer than 80,000 miles.
The lease process is similar to a new car lease. At lease end, the vehicle can be purchased for a previously agreed-upon price or simply returned to a Honda dealer.
Why CPO Leasing?
Honda says rising new vehicle prices and higher wholesale used vehicle prices have made CPO leasing more feasible.
Honda says it ranked second in the U.S. for CPO vehicle volume in 2023, with significant growth in CPO volume last year. Expanding its CPO lease program is the next step.
The move is also intended to attract more first-time buyers to Honda and Acura through more affordable offerings. CPO leasing can also allow buyers to upgrade to larger or better-equipped Honda models than they could afford new.
For more information on CPO vehicles, including reviews of CPO programs and how those programs work, visit our CPO hub.
