NZ new car registrations rise in January - LTNZ

WELLINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - New Zealand new car registrations rose for the first time in three months in January, Land Transport New Zealand said on Monday.

A total of 7,543 new cars were registered in the month, up 35.6 percent on December and 11.1 percent higher than a year ago, the government agency said.

Used car registrations -- generally imported used cars -- totalled 9,334 last month, down 4.8 percent on a year ago.

New commercial vehicle registrations during the month were 1,823, up 4.3 percent from a month earlier, and 8.8 percent higher than Janaury 2007.

The top selling make for the month was Toyota (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) with 1,557 new cars, followed by Holden (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) with 878 new cars.