Apple is "almost certainly" exploring how to build an entire car but would likely need to partner with a manufacturer due to the complexities of making a whole vehicle, a top analyst said.

The comments come after it was revealed on Friday that the U.S. technology giant received a permit to test self-driving cars in California.

It has been long-rumored that Apple has been working on a car with the codename Project Titan, but recent reports suggested that it has scaled back its ambitions and is no longer attempting to build the entire vehicle. Instead, the focus is said to be on creating software to go into autonomous cars.

Gene Munster, who was a widely followed analyst at Piper Jaffray before leaving to launch venture capital firm Loup Ventures, said Apple's "dream car" would be one where the company owns both the hardware and software like it has done with other products such as the iPhone to create "superior" experiences.