All the economic indicators are "heading south" – the credit crunch, the price of fuel, inflation, job cuts, shattered business confidence.

And when the director of the RMI National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) Sue Robinson attacks the Bank of England's "hesitance" over interest rates, making consumers cautious about making major purchases, such as a new car, it doesn't spell good news for the motor industry.

She said: "The economy needs a rate-cut kick-start to re-energize consumer spending."

But if sales figures are anything to go by – and they are not necessarily the whole picture – then city dealership marshall Jaguar, whose new cars start at about £20,000, paints a rosy picture.

"We have had a terrific first six months in 2008," said franchise manager Daniel Cooper, who has been with the Marshall Motor Group for 18 years.

"We hit 137 per cent of our target for the period.

"Put another way, the dealership registered 104 new registrations compared to 62 in the same period last year. So we're up 168 per cent year on year."

Daniel acknowledges the impact of the new XF car, saying it "did us a huge favour with its launch in February."

An outstanding new model, the high-end luxury saloon has been littered with accolades throughout the industry, such as What car? of the Year 2008; and created a halo effect for the Jaguar brand.

Pre-owned, that is used, Jaguar cars have also done very well, with numbers up on the first half of 2007.

Daniel is "ecstatic" about the way business has "motored along" and not only on a Peterborough basis.

The above figures translate into exceptional performance nationally. Where Marshall Jaguar finished an excellent 14th out of 98 UK dealers, it is currently ranked eighth.

Daniel, who has built on the firm's success since taking over the helm in October 2005, is fully aware of the economic difficulties and the importance of having "the controls in place" to cope with the situation.

"The people who'll see it through are those who have the basics right," he said.

"people are still wanting to buy new cars and if we get over the next few months – the traditional holiday months and the build-up to September's new-reg, it will keep us in good stead. We are still on track to meet July's target."

There is a slight note of caution when Daniel refers to the X-Type model which has done exceedingly well, having "taken off" following its facelift in march.

"We have only a limited number of these cars in stock and it could mean waiting until October for delivery if ordered today," he said.

"It is our 'bread and butter' car sales that may suffer if people hold back due to the state of the economy," he said.

But potential Jaguar purchases won't be affected through lack of finance, according to Daniel.

Banks may have tightened up on loans, with rates moving upwards.