Farm buggies – also known variously as UTVs, utility vehicles and side-by-sides – continue to increase in popularity while sales of ATVs are still dipping, according to the latest sales figures from the Agricultural Engineers Association.

Deliveries of ATVs to dealers dropped by 13% in 2012 to 5,908 units while deliveries of farm buggies rose 18% to 4,451 units. The figures cover just the types sold mainly into agriculture and don’t include leisure or sports machines

“The overall off-road vehicle market held fairly stable last year, which was particularly satisfying given the challenges faced by farmers and in the context of an estimated drop of some 20% in real farm incomes,” said group chairman Phil Everett from Polaris Britain. “The traditional ATV element continues to lose some ground as utility side-by-side vehicles find more favour.”