SYDNEY, March 3 (Reuters) - Australian new vehicle sales enjoyed another month of strong sales in February, a positive sign for economic growth as consumers remained confident enough to splash out on big-ticket items.

The upbeat industry data comes after government figures showed the economy surpassed expectations to grow 3 percent last year, led in large part by household consumption.

Australians spend around A$20 billion on vehicles annually, equal to almost 9 percent of household consumption.

The Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries' VFACTS report on Thursday showed total sales were 96,443 in February, up 6.7 percent on a year earlier.

Sales for the year so far were 4.8 percent ahead of the same two months in 2015.

Demand for sports utility vehicles (SUVs) remained red-hot, with sales up 15.1 percent on February last year. Those gains have come partly at the expense of passenger vehicles which fell 3 percent in February.

Sales of light commercial vehicles jumped 12.8 percent, a second straight month of strong gains that could be a harbinger of firmer business investment. Sales of heavy vehicles also rebounded by 19.9 percent.

Toyota Motor Corp retained first place on the sales ladder in February with a market share of 16.8 percent. Mazda Motor Corp had another bumper month with a share of 10.6 percent.

Hyundai Motor Co took third place with 8.0 percent of the market, while the local Holden unit of General Motors Co held 7.6 percent. Ford trailed with 6.9 percent.

Details of the VFACTS report in original terms:

Feb Jan m/m pct Feb/15 y/y pct

Sales 96,443 84,373 +14.3 90,424 +6.7

Sales by Type: Feb '16/feb '15 Volumes

Change Pct Change

Passenger Vehicles -1,217 -3.0

Sports Utility +4,826 +15.1

Light Commercial +1,990 +12.8

Heavy Commercial +420 +19.9 (Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)