Google, Ford Team Up to Build Self-Driving Vehicle

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Is it safe getting in a driverless car with Google technology? The tech giant and Ford Motor Co certainly think so. As a matter of fact, the two companies are teaming up to build a self-driving car that will definitely set a standard in the future of the auto-making industry.

According to Yahoo! News, although there is still no official confirmation from both companies, sources who have knowledge with the plans said that the team up will be announced by the automaker in January 2016 at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Both Google and Ford declined to comment with regard to the partnership. Alan Hall, Ford's spokesperson said: "We work with a lot of tech companies all over the world. We keep these discussions private for obvious competitive reasons and we do not comment on speculation."

In a report by Auto News, sources stated that Google and Ford have been negotiating for a very long time for this project, trying to come up with a contract that would benefit both companies. It is reported that the Internet search engine have made minor leadership reconstruction in their company to head the company's plan of creating a self-driving vehicle.

Alan Mulally, who recently joined Google as one of their board of directors, is a former CEO of Ford Motor Co. Another former CEO of Hyundai Motor America, John Krafcik, has been given the task to lead the project for Google. Krafcik's experience will be very helpful for the plan, as he was once a chief engineer during the development of Ford's most famous SUV -- the Expedition.

Google has been negotiating with other car companies who can help them come up with an excellent plan for its self-driving vehicle project. The sources also mentioned that there is no exclusivity in the contract between Google and Ford, which will give the tech company to continue talking with other automakers regarding the innovation of a new system.

It is also reported that by 2020, self-driving vehicles will be available in the market since most automakers are also working on their own driverless car project. This new development should give consumers more options when shopping for new cars, Yahoo! News reported.

Car analyst Thilo Koslowski mentioned that this would be very beneficial to car companies that are showing interest in partnering with Google. This will help them catch up to their competitors who have already started working on this advanced technology-driven project, according to a report relayed by Auto News.