Farmers drive Wairarapa new car sales

New Zealand Transport Agency figures show 571 new vehicles were registered for the first time in Wairarapa last year, while 597 used vehicles were registered.

Wairarapa residents are getting around in newer vehicles with increasing confidence in a strong local economy, a Masterton car dealer says.

New Zealand Transport Agency figures show 571 new vehicles were registered for the first time in Wairarapa last year, while 597 used vehicles were registered.

The model with the most new registrations in the region was Suzuki's Swift at 80 vehicles, followed by Mazda's Axela and Demio models at 32 each.

Fagan Motors' chief executive Keith Allen said 2014 was a strong year for sales with notable increases in commercial vehicles and utes.

"People are increasingly moving away from cars to SUVs and utes," he said. "[SUVs and utes] have improved greatly. They're far more comfortable, far smoother to drive in and people like being able to have one vehicle for everything."

The strong local economy meant buyer confidence was on the up, he said.

"Sheep and beef farmers had a really good year last year. There wasn't drought or any natural disasters so the farmers have been upgrading their vehicles and because they're doing well, the rest of the economy is doing well.

"We've also had a lot of smaller businesses upgrading their vehicles which we don't often see."

NZME. regional motoring editor Colin Smith said all time record sales of new commercial vehicles had meant a strong year for car dealers.

Growth in the SUV market was particularly evident - nearly 30 per cent of the market was SUVs in 2014.

NZME.