Kia Motors has been granted a licence by the U.S.A state of 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 lineup by 2020, and is aiming to bring its first fully-autonomous car to market by 2030. The initial stage of investment will see the companies develop new Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) technologies and employ a greater number of engineers.

Dr. Tae-Won Lim, Vice President, Central Advanced Research and Engineering Institute of Hyundai Motor Group, commented, "A great deal of research and rigorous product testing is being undertaken in order to make the 'self-driving car' a reality. Thanks to this license we will be able to accelerate the testing of our new autonomous driving technologies that are currently in the early stages of development, with particular emphasis on our alternative powertrain vehicles. We are confident that our latest innovations - both for partially and fully-autonomous driving - will ultimately make driving safer for all road users."