Apple is globally considered as a trailblazer in hardware and software technology. If a fresh report is any indication, the Cupertino-based tech giant has taken its moniker to a new level. Insiders from Apple recently told The Wall Street Journal that the company is currently developing an electric car.

The newspaper article, posted via BGR, read:

"Apple Inc. is accelerating efforts to build an electric car, designating it internally as a “committed project” and setting a target ship date for 2019, according to people familiar with the matter.

The go-ahead came after the company spent more than a year investigating the feasibility of an Apple-branded car, including meetings with two groups of government officials in California. Leaders of the project, code-named Titan , have been given permission to triple the 600-person team, the people familiar with the matter said."

Apple is apparently hard-pressed on their new initiative since the company has bulked up their automotive division from 600 to 1,800 people.

To amass such workforce, the Cupertino-based tech giant has started vehemently recruiting employees from well-known automotive firms such as Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen and even from inevitable rival Tesla. Mac Rumors noted that the majority of the new recruits are experts in connected and autonomous vehicles.

Not much is known on how Apple will go about the project, although there are rumors claiming that Apple already has several meetings with BMW over a possible collaboration. As of the moment, a deal between the two hasn't been made yet. The deal is said to center around the BMW i3 as the basis for the "Apple Car."

The tech giant has also begun scouting facilities to test-run the vehicle.

The Guardian previously reported that engineers from Apple's "Special Project" group have already met with officials at GoMentum Station, a secure 2,100-acre test facility in San Francisco where connected and autonomous vehicles are tested.

Regarding when the "Apple Car" will become available to the public, "people familiar with the project" have expressed skepticism over Apple's target 2019 release date. Apple could just be referring to when its engineers will confirm the project's main features.

Given the novelty and the scope of the project, delays are inevitable. The idea of Apple developing, testing and manufacturing an Apple Car in time for 2019 remains a pipedream as of the moment. It's worth mentioning, though, that the idea of Apple manufacturing a mobile device was just as ridiculous back in early 2006.

In the meantime, Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about the car project in an interview with Stephen Colbert last week. The 54-year-old business executive chuckled and vaguely said, "We look at a number of things along the way, and we decide to really put our energies on a few of those."