A list issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles on April 14, 2017 included a new name, namely Apple Inc. This means that Apple has secured a permit to test its self-driving car in California. This confirms existing speculation that Apple Inc is working on an autonomous car technology. Apple Inc has added the crowd of companies that are expecting to offer the autonomous car.

DMV includes a long list of popular companies, such as Volkswagen Group of America, Mercedes Benz, Google, Tesla Motors, Ford, Honda, BMW, and some other names. Most of the companies claimed that they would launch the autonomous car in 2020. However, many experts predict that they will take longer since the launching of autonomous car requires regulatory modification, which may seem challenging.

What is included in the self-driving car test permit?

The test permit for Apple’s self-driving car includes test drives in three vehicles with 6 drivers. According to DMV, all of the three vehicles are 2015 Lexus RX450h. Apple had not openly announced that it was working on an electric car. However, the company had recruited some auto experts during the last few years. Did the permit issued by the DMV answer the question?

According to Chris Theodore, the former Vice President at Ford Motor and Chrysler, the permit does not necessarily mean automobile test, as widely rumored. He said that the permit might be related to software or hardware for autonomous technology. It may be an Android-based application to support self-driving car produced by other companies.

Actually, the question on whether Apple is investing in autonomous car has been around since November last year. Unfortunately, the company representative declined to give direct comment on its effort to write about autonomous car regulation to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The writing included a statement that Apple Inc was investing heavily on vehicle automation and machine learning, but it did not explicitly state that the company was investing on autonomous car technology.

Does Apple go beyond smartphones into self-driving car technology?

Apple is one of the most important players in smartphone technology. It is also working on Apple integration into vehicle infotainment systems. However, does the company want to go beyond? Tim Cook – the Chief Executive –implied it. The company keeps secretive about the project, which is code named Project Titan.

Actually, existence of the project is still very controversial. Some people claims that Apple has been on the project for several years. However, some others say that the company is not working on a car. Instead, it is working on a self-driving car software technology, which will allow it to partner with existing car makers.  Again, the letter to NHTSA still hinted that Apple is still committed to the project.

California seems to be the most favorite places for self-driving car testing. Several car makers choose the state. The State of California requires that companies, which want to test self-driving car on the road, must register for a permit. This makes the list accessible to the public. Whether Apple is really working on a self-driving car or a software app for the car will be answered when the test is launched.