2014 was another record breaking year for new vehicle sales in this province.

Kent Ledingham of Steinbach is President of the Motor Dealers Association of Manitoba. He says in 2014 there were 57,778 new vehicles sold in Manitoba; an increase of 2.7 per cent from the previous year. 2013 had also been a record year.

"I guess we're always surprised but it's always a good thing," says Ledingham. "The manufacturers have very aggressive promotions going on now with low interest rate financing, etc. across the board. So it's a very good time to buy a new car."

Ledingham says though he can't speak for the other dealers, he thinks the strong year was felt in Steinbach as well.

According to Ledingham, most of the new vehicles sold in this province last year were not passenger cars, but commercial vehicles.

"Commercial vehicles and trucks are always probably, especially for rural Manitoba, the majority of the vehicles we sell," he says. "That and small SUV's."

As for 2015, Ledingham says it's hard to guess what sort of year it might be. He notes the manufacturers have a lot of good programs aimed at driving traffic and sales and so he anticipates another good year.

Meanwhile, he says gas prices generally do not have much impact on vehicle sales. According to Ledingham, most people don't make a decision on which vehicle to purchase based on short term gas price fluctuations.