Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts manufacturer under Hyundai Motor Group, said Monday that it will begin conducting test rides of level 4 autonomous driving in Incheon this month to accelerate the commercialization of self-driving vehicles.

The Society of Automotive Engineers categorizes autonomous driving in six levels, ranging from 0 to 5. Level 4 autonomous driving requires the vehicle to perform the majority of driving tasks independently.

The auto parts maker signed a memorandum of understanding with the Incheon Free Economic Zone and Incheon Technopark to join efforts to nurture startups that can innovate smart mobility.

According to Hyundai Mobis, about 20 startups, partner firms, research institutes and universities will participate in the test-driving project.

Under the memorandum, the test vehicle will be able to drive on a 60-kilometer course covering urban areas in Songdo and Yeongjongdo through the first half of next year. Hyundai Mobis credited the Incheon municipal government for allowing the inner-city drive.

Hyundai Mobis underlined that it will be a rare chance to test the autonomous driving technologies in a city ride instead of a highway drive.

The auto parts maker plans to secure meaningful data from urban driving, covering a long distance with expectations that this test will help advance its autonomous driving solutions. Hyundai Mobis will apply the computing technology that has been optimized for level 4 autonomous driving and load high-performance processors that can replace dozens of micro controller units, which are semiconductors responsible for controlling the vehicle.