Ssangyong Motor

SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- SsangYong Motor Co. said Tuesday it obtained approval for temporary driving of its SUV-based autonomous vehicle. 

Since 2014, the company has stepped up its efforts to develop autonomous vehicle technology in line with the government's plan to commercialize self-driving cars by 2020. 

The Tivoli SUV-based autonomous vehicle has secured technologies that allow the car to keep and change lanes, maintain a certain distance from a vehicle ahead and send alerts to the driver when an obstacle is detected in blind spots, SsangYong Motor said in a statement. 

Under the "level 3" approval for temporary driving, SsangYong Motor plans to test the autonomous vehicle on the expressway, it said. 

SsangYong Motor's Tivoli SUV-based autonomous vehicle (Yonhap)

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr