(December 14, 2015) Kia Motors has been granted a license by Nevada to carry out testing of its autonomous driving technologies on public roads for the first time.

Kia — together with sister company Hyundai — hopes to experiment with partially- and fully-autonomous driving technologies in real-world conditions, an important part of its roadmap for autonomous driving.

Kia plans to introduce a range of partially-autonomous driving technologies to its model line-up including eco-friendly vehicles by 2020, and is aiming to bring its first fully-autonomous car to market by 2030.

The initial stage of investment by Kia and Hyundai — totaling $2 billion by 2018 — will enable the companies to develop new Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) technologies and employ a greater number of engineers. The investment will lead to the introduction of next-generation smart vehicles in the coming years.