Ford Motor Company

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(David Zalubowski)

Update: Alan Hall, communications manager for technology, research and innovation at Ford Motor Co. has emailed this statement: "We have been and will continue working with many companies and discussing a variety of subjects related to our Ford Smart Mobility plan. We keep these discussions private for obvious competitive reasons, and we do not comment on speculation."

DETROIT, MI - In a strategic partnership between a tech giant and an automaker, Google and Ford Motor Co. will pair on an autonomous vehicle-building project, according to a report in Yahoo Autos.

Citing sources familiar with the plans, the report says that the joint venture will be announced by Ford at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

For autonomous vehicles, the two companies are complimentary in that Google has been developing self-driving car software for years, and already has 53 test vehicles on roads in California and Texas.

Partnering with Ford - which has also been developing autonomous vehicle technology - gives Google immediate access to the 102-year-old company's sizable vehicle-building infrastructure and network.

"Tech companies have an advantage when it comes to rapidly developing advanced autonomous features, but building an entire vehicle goes far beyond high-tech engineering," Karl Brauer, senior analyst with Kelley Blue Book, said in an email Monday night. "Car companies will struggle to keep up with the pace of autonomous technology, while tech companies will face a daunting task in setting up the full production and distribution of an automobile line. An alliance between the two industries could make everything happen much quicker, giving the advantage to tech and car companies that align first."

David Muller is the automotive and business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com, follow him on Twitter or find him on Facebook.