Kiwi takes Kia Skill World Cup title

New Zealander Travis Cross has been awarded top Service Advisor for the Asia-Pacific region at the 2017 Kia Skill World Cup held in Korea. Representing New Zealand at the competition, Cross, from Botany Kia, beat out contestants from nine other countries to take the regional title. He was placed 11^th out of the 57 global competitors. “I was surprised to finish first in the region and pretty happy with the result against the rest of the world,” he said. Service advisors around New Zealand initially applied for the competition. Successful applicants had to complete a 25-question written test exhibiting a broad knowledge of the Kia range and aftersales policies and processes. Five finalists competed to represent New Zealand at the global competition. The global competition in Seoul included a written and video test and a role-playing exercise over two days. While in Korea, Cross visited a Kia Motors assembly plant. “That was very impressive – we got to see Optima and Cerato being built,” he said. It’s the second year in a row that a Kiwi has taken out a regional title at the Kia Skill World Cup. Last year, Brian Cockerton from Giltrap North Shore topped his region in the Service Technician division of the contest. “Travis has done extraordinarily well to uphold Kia Motors New Zealand’s reputation at the Kia Skill World Cup,” said Kia Motors national service manager Craig Buckley. “It’s a uncompromising test of individual knowledge and interpersonal skills of the Kia Service Advisor, and to reach the world finals, then come away as the best in the Asia/Pacific region, is a great achievement for Travis.”