A recent letter from Cupertino-based technology firm Apple to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration once again sparked speculations that the company is planning to venture into the self-driving cars industry.

The 5-page letter was signed by Apple's director of product integrity, Steve Kenner. The main objective of the letter was "to provide the following comments on the proposed Federal Automated Vehicles Policy."

Apple's letter revealed that the company is still highly excited about the development of automated systems "including transportation" in many areas. It contradicts earlier reports that Apple is changing its plans about creating self-driving cars. According to a New York Times report last September, sources from inside Apple revealed that the company laid off a number of employees and "shuttered parts" of their automated cars' plan.

On the first page of the letter, Apple says, "In order to best protect the traveling public and keep up with the pace of innovation, NHTSA should expedite requests for exemption and interpretation and petitions for rulemaking."

Being one of the top electronics company in the world, Apple commented on the regulators' policy on data sharing and reiterated that it  "should not come at the cost of privacy."

Apple explained: "Apple agrees that companies should share de-identified scenario and dynamics data from crashes and near-misses. Data should be sufficient to reconstruct the event, including time- series of vehicle kinematics and characteristics of the roadway and objects."

The company added that it supports the current privacy principles of the NHTSA. However, Apple reiterates that industry players should "address privacy challenges" that come with the data collection on automated vehicles.

In another part of the letter, Apple – a company rumored to be venturing into the self-driving cars industry soon – interestingly suggested that NHTSA must treat established companies and "new entrants" of the industry equally.

Apple said, "Instead of applying for exemptions, all companies should be given an opportunity to implement internal safety processes summarized in a Safety Assessment."

Ending the letter, Kenner wrote that Apple "looks forward" to working with NHTSA for the wider realization of self-driving cars' benefits to people.