The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said on Friday new car registrations in Britain dipped slightly in April, but it revised up forecasts for 2004 sales on the back of a robust economy.
The SMMT said sales were 187,004 in April - a fall of 3.8 percent on March. The group said the fall was pronounced partly because March sales were exceptionally strong.
But the SMMT did not expect higher borrowing costs - which are still low by historical standard - to put a brake on car sales. In fact, it has revised upward its forecasts for car sales this year to 2.6 million units from 2.5 million, on the back of a robust economy.