Ford Motor (F) - Get Report and Alphabet (GOOGL) - Get Report  have plenty of reasons to work together on driverless cars, even if they're not talking about it.

Ford has expertise in vehicles while Alphabet's Google unit has a reputation as one of the best designers of software and artificial intelligence. They need one another, and might be able to move faster together than apart. But each could choose a different path to driverless technology.

The two companies were preparing to formalize a partnership to create driverless cars but are now staying silent on what they are doing and have declined to confirm whether they continue to discuss the matter.

A much-anticipated Ford press conference in Las Vegas at CES on Tuesday concluded without mention of Google by CEO Mark Fields. Fields outlined Ford's strategy in several categories of advanced mobility, including its internal research and development toward a driverless car.

Ford executives, asked about talks with Google, responded, "We talk with a lot of technology companies."  

"For a hundred years success in the auto business came to those companies that could design, build and distribute cars," said Karl Brauer, a senior analyst for Kbb.com. "Now it looks like the ability to connect directly with consumers, like Uber and Lyft, as well as the ability to create driverless technology, like Google, will be needed."

The companies declined to acknowledge they are discussing a partnership. But Yahoo! News, citing three anonymous sources, reported Dec. 21 such discussions were under way and an announcement could happen at CES.

At CES Tuesday Fields explained Ford has been developing driverless technology for more than a decade, although the automaker has said little about it publicly. Unlike Ford, Google has been public about its research, demonstrating its system to journalists and officials with prototypes on public roads and proving its practical, feasible advantages.

Presumably, Google has a great deal of leverage in negotiations with Ford. Google's market capitalization of $514 billion is roughly 10 times that of Ford, and its brand name is one of the hottest on the planet. Ford is another storied brand, though one more closely identified with manufacturing, mechanical and propulsion technology unlike Google's expertise in software and artificial intelligence.

Google, which aims to introduce driverless technology within five years, has insisted it doesn't want to build cars, which opens a path for any number of global automakers that could provide the hardware. Ford likely intends to be more than a mere supplier of hardware and would press for access to Google's operating system and software expertise, the heart of what makes driverless cars possible.

Personalities also may play a role in negotiations between the two companies. Alan Mulally was Ford's chief executive officer until July 2014 and joined Google's board as a director that month. Mulally likely knows precisely what software expertise the automaker does or doesn't possess. John Krafcik, head of Google's driverless car unit, is a former Ford engineer.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.