One of the semi-finalists in this year’s Top Technician competition has been named as Kia’s world champion EV technician, winning the Gold Medal in the Kia EV Skill World Cup 2021, beating rivals from 14 other countries while also hopefully putting him in good stead for this year’s TT diagnostic smackdown.

Dave Weston, Master Technician from Snows Kia Guildford has been a regular semi-finalist and finalist in Top Technician over the last few years, and is set to compete in this year’s semi-finals in September after qualifying last year. He will be going into the latter stages of this year’s competition bearing the honour of being the best Kia EV technician in the world too.

The EV Skill World Cup 2021 (EVSWC 2021) was run by Kia for technicians at the brand’s dealerships worldwide. It took place virtually on 29-30 June, live-streamed through the Kia Osan Training Center in Korea.

David brought home the Gold Medal, having accrued 252 points out of a possible 300. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and with each task being undertaken remotely, he worked from the Kia Academy in Nottingham. He was supported throughout the competition by the Kia Academy Technical Training team at Nottingham.

Chris Lear, After Sales Director at Kia UK observed: “David’s win demonstrates that Kia’s dealerships really know their stuff when it comes to electric vehicles. Kia is no stranger to EVs – with the full-electric Soul EV launched as long ago as 2015 and the Niro Hybrid in 2016.”

The competition, and Dave’s victory are part of a larger journey for the brand. Chris continued: “For many customers EVs are a new experience We recognise this and have made sure that our dealers are able to support owners in the best way possible, offering peace of mind and the reassurance necessary for a happy ownership experience. Congratulations to David on this significant accomplishment.”

Moving over to Dave himself, he said: “I wish to thank everyone at Kia for putting on such a complex and well-polished event, Kia Europe and especially the Kia Academy in Nottingham for the support and trust they showed in me, and for making me feel part of the Kia family.

Dave continued: “Lots of hard work has gone into it, from Top Technician many years ago, getting to the semi-finals, then the finals twice, the semi-finals again, and doing lots of training in between. That includes through the IMI, as well as Technical Topics with the EV Level 4 training. There was also training with Andy Savva, which was part of the Master Tech I did with Technical Topics. It has all held me in good stead and given me confidence and knowledge and it has gotten me where I am now. The proof in the pudding of all of it is that I have won. I can say I am champion of the world, which is definitely an accolade.”

Top Technician and Top Garage are sponsored by Snap-on, Varta, TechMan, Motul, Philips and LKQ Euro Car Parts, and come to you in association with ABC Awards, ADS, the Garage Equipment Association (GEA), the Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) and the Independent Garage Association (IGA).