The Steer | April's Motoring News and Highlights

This month there’s news on awards, the female-only W Series race championship, and a first look the Ford Fiesta ST Performance Edition, so hold on to your hats.

Electric vehicles outsell petrol and diesel alternatives for the first time in Norway

March 2019 saw the balance of Norwegian car sales tip towards electric vehicles (EVs) for the first time in the country’s history.

Norway’s Road Traffic Information Council announced that 18,375 new cars were sold during March, with zero-emissions vehicles accounting for 10,732 of them – a huge 58% of sales.

The shift indicates a huge step in realising the Norwegian Government’s pledge to stop the sale of new petrol and diesel passenger cars and vans by 2025.

All-female racing championship to be shown live and free

Starting this Saturday, the W Series – a global race series featuring only female drivers – will be broadcast on Channel 4.

It was announced in April that all six races are to be shown on the free-to-air station, along with build-up and qualifying sessions.

The first season will see 18 drivers from 13 countries compete in Germany, Belgium, Italy, Holland and the UK.

Coverage of the first round at Hockenheim starts Saturday 4th May on Channel 4 at 2.45pm.

Female Racing Driver

Limited-edition Ford Fiesta ST announced

Ford has announced the Fiesta ST Performance Edition, a UK-only variant limited to only 600 units.

Based on the top-spec ST-3, this model features new ‘Deep Orange’ paintwork and 18-inch, ten-spoke wheels that are 7kg lighter than the standard ST-3’s rims.

It also has a new suspension setup that’s been tuned at the Nurburgring and all the extras that come with the ST Performance Pack – a standard on the Performance Edition.

Orders open in June, with the first deliveries arriving in September. Get in touch to register your interest.

Ford ST Line

Jaguar I-PACE announced as World Car of the Year

The I-PACE has been crowned World Car of the Year at the New York International Auto Show.

It’s only the second EV to take the title, after the Nissan LEAF in 2011, and also claimed the Design and Green Car awards at the same show.

These come only weeks after the I-PACE was awarded 2019 European Car of the Year, and a matter of months after Top Gear named it their EV of the Year.

According to Jaguar, 11,000 of them have already been delivered to customers in over 60 countries.

To find out more about the super Jaguar I-PACE, visit https://www.lookers.co.uk/jaguar/electric-vehicles/i-pace-electric-vehicle-facts

Jaguar I-PACE

The Ford Mustang is the world’s best-selling sports coupe

The Ford Mustang has taken the title for the fourth year in a row, after 113,066 models were sold all around the world last year.

Units sold in the UK make up 2,323 of those – a five percent increase on last year. The iconic motor also celebrated its 55th anniversary in February, and last year marked the 50th anniversary of Steve McQueen’s Bullitt with a special edition model.

Ford Mustang

And from the world of Lookers…

Lookers named as one of the UK’s top employers

In April we were ranked 20th in the Sunday Times’ 25 Best Big Companies to work for, and then became the only motor retailer to be named a ‘Top Employer’ by the Top Employers Institute.

The endorsements highlighted Lookers’ efforts to instil a culture of diversity and inclusivity within the business, a theme that was celebrated at our Annual Conference in February.

Our increased investment in apprenticeships was also acknowledged through the awards, after our total number of apprentices reached 500 this year.

Volkswagen Northallerton voted best in country for aftersales

In addition to the group-level awards, our Lookers VW Northallerton dealership was voted number one for its aftersales services.

Announced at an official Volkswagen event in Stockholm, the dealership’s sales department also ranked 4th in the country for its highly-rated customer service.

Overall, VW Northallerton now ranks 3rd in the country – even more impressive considering the site was 185th only four years ago.

I have an account

I don't have an account

You need an account before you can save searches. It takes less than a minute to register.

Register Now
I have an account

I don't have an account

You need an account before you can save vehicles. It takes less than a minute to register.

Register Now

Don't worry!

We're taking you to our partner site, everything is fine.

OK, got it

You saved a vehicle

You opted to save a vehicle to your account. We will keep you up to date if anything changes to the status of the vehicles.

You can find your saved vehicles here:

Saved vehicle icon
Got it
Monthly Vehicle Variant Save
(View full finance example)

Example monthly payment

Advance payment Vehicle Variant Save

This vehicle has been reserved
This vehicle is now sold
This vehicle is no longer available

This vehicle has been reserved
This vehicle is now sold
This vehicle is no longer available

We have available variants

Advance payment

PM

Example monthly payment

Available from   or  /month (Rep)

0

Used s

0

New s

( )