Apple receives permit to test self-driving vehicles on California roads

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on Friday allowed Apple to test self-driving vehicles in the state, confirming long-rumoured plans of the company's foray into driver-less vehicles, code-named "Project Titan".

Apple's move into AV technology was not unexpected and the company was supposed to have ''Project Titan'' connected to vehicles in the works, but had not confirmed it.

''This absolutely verifies that they are going to do something in this space,'' Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Patrick Moorhead said of Apple. ''This is likely Titan.''

The DMV yesterday provided confirmation that not only was Apple working on automotive technology, it also had plans for autonomous vehicles. The department had issued permits to 29 firms to test self-driving vehicles on California roads with Apple being the latest.

''The permit covers three vehicles, all 2015 Lexus RX450h, and six drivers,'' the DMV said in a statement yesterday.

The DMV did not provide further information. With the move, Apple has joined Google, Tesla, Ford, BMW, Subaru, General Motors and other major automakers and tech companies in developing driver-less technology.

According to Moorehead, Apple was probably not building its own car, however, and Project Titan might only be a code word for the firm's work on vehicle technology.

Apple had met with the DMV as far back as 2015, but despite this, testing had continued in private. The most public the project had ever been was in November 2016, when Apple submitted a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, expressing interest in the autonomous field.

The company was also at one point thought to be designing a top-to-bottom vehicle, but the company had reined in the project due to a number of obstacles and switched to the more narrow focus of a self-driving platform. The company was also later this year, expected to decide whether to resume building a full-fledged car or partner with an existing automaker.