It may be detailed in some press release from years past, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are any limits that they'd not be freely said. For my own perspective, I think that Zeiss likes selling what good ol' Ken would call "couture items" and not worrying about certain aspects of the mechanical side of technology...like IS and AF, sticking instead to MF lenses for film and fine art. Who knows. I don't think that's a winning strategy long-term, but it may work for a while longer.
But back to Zeiss and Sony - I believe that their relationship started with Sony's pre-Minolta cameras, like the classic F707/F717 bridge cameras, which sport clear Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar markings. This early digital bridge camera is from 2001, whereas the D700 from 1998 has a "Sony Zoom Lens." More recently I have seen Zeiss lenses on Sony compacts.
It would be interesting if Zeiss decided to hop into the classic 70-200 (or 80-200, 70-210...) range of portrait zooms.