Hyundai Mobis., South Korea’s top auto parts maker, said Thursday it will test out its self-driving vehicle named M.BILLY on roads outside Korea for the first time in the motorways of Michigan in the United States and later in Germany.

The company said it has been cleared to test out the car on full level 3 system in the U.S. state from mid-April. It hopes to advance test to level 4.

Level 3 refers to conditional autonomy with control given to human driver only in an emergency and Level 4 means no human intervention necessary.

The semi-autonomous vehicle to be tested in Michigan has a full Level 3 autonomous system.

M.BILLY coined from the company’s vision `New Mobility Experience’ adds the autonomous system to Kia Motors’ mid-sized sedan K5. The car’s autonomy is driven by 25 radar, lidar and ultrasound sensors with one front-facing camera and four surround view monitors, the company said in a statement.

The company plans to apply for road test permits in Korea next month and in Germany in the following month.

“We are focusing on developing high-precision sensors with an aim to mass-produce a Level 3 autonomous car equipped with independently developed sensors in 2022,” said a company spokesman.

The company said it will raise R&D spending to 10 percent of revenue by 2021.

By Kim Jung-hwan and Minu Kim

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