Apple has told US regulators that it is still interested in developing self-driving car technology.

Steven Kenner, the computer giant’s director of product integrity, has written to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to confirm that it remains interested in autonomous vehicles.

The letter re-affirming its belief in the viability of the in the technology emerged less than three months after it emerged that it had axed dozens of staff from its secret vehicle division.

The company had invested substantial amounts into a project, code-named Titan. But the layoffs suggested that the company was no longer interested in producing a self-driving car itself.