I am not privy to the contract, but by the same token you seem to be sure that warranty on the Jaguar or the Paciica would have been voided. Do you have any evidence to believe that to be so other than your feelings.
I'm entirely uninterested in "feelings" regarding this subject. Feelings are irrelevant to engineering and basic economics. We are both arguing in absence of evidence; I'm applying common sense and what I know about automobile warranties, which is that any substantial modification to the car's structure or powertrain will void the warranty. Any warranty, any auto maker, anywhere.
Wyamo has been retrofitting and running cars for 10 years now and if they had a problem, it would happened.
Well of
course it has. We can be sure that Waymo has had to have some of its robo-taxis fixed. You are assuming -- with no evidence at all to back it up -- that Waymo is getting service under warranty from the auto maker. I'm assuming they're not, for pretty obviously reasons. I'm assuming that Waymo pays whatever shop or shops service their cars.
Experimental passenger vehicles are often, perhaps usually, made by modifying stock cars. That doesn't mean that the car is still protected under warranty after the modification! InterestedinEV, what do you think the phrase "void the warranty" means? Do you think that never actually happens in real life? Does the photo below look like Waymo isn't doing extensive hardware modifications to the car?
What do you think would happen if Rivian brought one of its Ford F-150 test mules into a Ford shop for service, and demanded it be fixed for free under warranty? Do you think they wouldn't be laughed out of the shop? Well of
course they would.
So I will not use the words "I am sure" but instead borrow your phrase. I would be very very surprised if Waymo and Jaguar/FCA have not discussed in detail what retrofitting will be done and how it will affect warranty. You have to remember that Jaguar and FCA need Waymo more than the other way around.
No matter what company Waymo picks to buy its fleet from, once it's done with its extensive aftermarket modifications, the normal warranty that comes with the car is going to be voided. That's inescapable, and arguing about it won't change that reality.
And no matter how much Jaguar "needs" the fleet purchase from Waymo, it's not going to agree to fix parts and assemblies which have been modified by Waymo, or have been subjected to use, wear, or stress beyond the car's originally engineered characteristics due to Waymo's modifications.
* * * * *
As I see it, there are two possible scenarios, and neither of us has any evidence to show which is correct:
(A) Waymo simply accepts the fact that no matter what car it uses, the warranty will be voided as part of the modification process. Waymo accepts that as part of the cost of doing business.
(B) Since Waymo will be buying 20,000 I-Pace cars from Jaguar, it has used that as leverage to negotiate a special arrangement for warranty work; the cars will be given a special, non-standard, limited,
partial warranty that covers certain parts of the car, parts which aren't affected by Waymo's modifications. Other parts of the car won't be covered by the special limited warranty.