Apple 'Well Positioned' In Self-Driving Car Market, Says J.P. Morgan - Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

he Guardian

recently reported that Apple Inc. AAPL is indeed building a self driving car and is currently looking for test locations. According to a public records act request, The Guardian obtained a "correspondence" by Apple's engineer Frank Fearon who wrote : "We would… like to get an understanding of timing and availability for the space, and how we would need to coordinate around other parties who would be using [it]." The executive was referring a 2,100-acre former naval base near San Francisco that is being converted into a "high-security testing ground for autonomous vehicles." The publication further added that engineers from Apple's Special Project group met with officials from the base in May. In fact, the former naval base is considered to be the "largest secure test facility in the world" for the "testing validation and commercialization of connected vehicles (CV) applications and autonomous vehicles (AV) technologies to define the next generation of transportation network infrastructure." Apple's ambitions in the auto market officially remains unknown and highly secretive. The project has been dubbed "Project Titan" and one of the little known facts is that Apple continues to aggressively hire auto executives. As an example, Apple

recently hired Doug Betts,

a "classic auto executive" with a decade of experience at Michelin, eight years at Toyota, seven at Chrysler and three at Nissan. At least one analyst is bullish and optimistic following The Guardian's report and briefly commented on Apple's position in the market. "We do believe that the simplicity of electrical motors may lead to more tech based car competition and Apple would be well positioned for this in our opinion," JPMorgan's Rod Hall commented in a note on Monday.

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