Australia new vehicle sales up 0.1 pct in Feb-ABS

SYDNEY, March 17 (Reuters) - Sales of new motor vehicles in Australia edged up 0.1 percent in February but were still down on the same month last year, data showed on Monday.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed new vehicle sales rose to a seasonally adjusted 92,799 in February, after falling 4 percent to 92,706 the month before.

Sales were down 3.5 percent on February last year.

Sales of passenger vehicles increased 0.8 percent in February, while those for sports utilities fell 0.3 percent. Sales of other vehicles, including trucks, dropped 1.0 percent.

(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Eric Meijer)

((Wayne.Cole@thomsonreuters.com)(612 9373 1813)(Reuters Messaging: wayne.cole.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: AUSTRALIA ECONOMY/VEHICLES