NEW YORK – The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple could become an automaker, with hundreds of employees currently “working secretly toward creating an Apple-branded electric vehicle,” according to people familiar with the matter. “The project, code-named ‘Titan,’ initially is working on the design of a vehicle that resembles a minivan,” the Wall Street Journal quoted a source saying.

Adding to the possibility is Apple’s recent hire of Marc Newson, an industrial designer, “close friend of the company’s design guru, Jony Ive,” and creator of a concept car for Ford Motor Co. In September, Apple brought on Johann Jungwirth, former president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America.

“Apple hopes to put its stamp on the electric vehicle market in the same way it did the smartphone with its iPhone,” writes the newspaper, adding that the tech company is “under constant scrutiny of where its next breakthrough product will come from.”

Google has also been eyeing the auto world with its self-driving car concept. The newspaper notes that the head of Google’s autonomous vehicle project commented in 2014 that the company “aims to forge a partnership” with automakers to build a self-driving car in the few years.