Google and Ford are reportedly expected to announce a deal to create self-driving cars at the massive Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January 2016.

Yahoo Autos, citing three sources, reports that Ford CEO Mark Fields will announce the deal at CES.

The pair are expected to operate the company as a separate unit. Google has already talked about spinning off its driverless car unit as an independent entity under its Alphabet umbrella. (See Google Sings 'Alphabet' Song.)

For more on connected cars, visit the automotive channel here at Light Reading.

Ford is expected to build the cars. Google will provide the software that allows them to be on the road without a driver.

Google said that it had a self-driving automotive prototype ready this time last year. The company has also been working to get its Android operating system into more cars. (See Google Has Self-Driving Prototype Ready and Google Steering Android Towards Cars – Report.)

Of course, Google can't program out human error affecting its vehicles on the road. In its Californian drive tests over the last year, there are multiple reports of flesh-and-blood drivers crashing into its autonomous automobiles.

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading