Kia India’s S Shanthakumar tops 11th Skill World Cup for best global mobility technicians

Here’s another global recognition of the high level of automotive and technical skills in India and it comes from the 11th Kia Skill World Cup, which was held at the Kia Osan Training Center and JW Marriott Hotel Seoul in Korea between May 21-23. The competition marked the first offline event after the pandemic since 2018, gathering 42 national winners from 40 countries to compete in the finals.

The Kia Skill World Cup, a global mobility engineering competition for Kia technicians, is held every two years in Seoul, Korea, and invites the best Kia technicians from each participating country. First hosted in 2002, the competition highlights outstanding technical experts from around the world and enhances the brand’s customer service capabilities.

The 42 contestants competed in both written and practical tests spanning fault diagnosis, powertrain, chassis, and electrical repair.

The 42 national winners competed in both written and practical tests spanning various fields, including fault diagnosis, powertrain, chassis, and electrical repair. The top 12 technicians were honoured with Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Excellence Awards, receiving trophies, medals, and prizes.

This year’s Gold Award was given to Sanchith Kumar Gangamakki Shanthakumar from India who scored a total of 630 points. Samuel Robert Nicholls from Australia and Diego Alonso Manrique Ortiz from Colombia won the Silver Award, while Guo Zhu Ping from China, Kris Abildgaard from Denmark, and Michael Heymans from Belgium won the Bronze Award.

During the three-day event, Kia also provided cultural experience programs to educate and inspire the participants through Kia’s brand philosophy. They visited the Gyeongbokgung Palace and Insadong, which represent the traditional beauty of Korea, as well as the Kia360, Kia’s brand experience centre.