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Start free trial →The Energy Gang · Climate & Energy · November 2026
Asked about the biggest obstacles in electrifying Amazon's delivery fleet, he says the underestimated part was the support ecosystem around the vehicles, beyond chargers and range: towing, repair, tires and collision work.
We think about them as opportunities, I guess. Yeah, I'm sorry. Sorry,
I apologize for that. But
…Range was going to be one that we needed to go solve for. I think the part that we didn't quite appreciate and have learned to appreciate and done a lot of work around has been this is a bit of an ecosystem that has got to move as well. It's not just about what we do ourselves because there's a whole support ecosystem that's got to come along with it. And that ranges from all kinds of things. It's simple things like how do you tow vehicles when something goes wrong with them? You can't tow an electric vehicle similar to how you tow a diesel vehicle. So you need the towing infrastructure to come along that lets you do it. When you're thinking about repairing a vehicle, A regular repair shop cannot deal with the high voltage battery that's on a vehicle. So, you need the repair infrastructure to upgrade, handle aluminum, be able to handle aluminum because the body panels are usually aluminum on these vehicles to reduce weight. How do you get…
dictates why you would have a limited number of OEMs involved in the process because that would at least simplify it, I suppose.
It does, but at the same time, I think that what we have found is, and this is interesting, like the places where there are consumer vehicles, a bigger penetration of electric consumer vehicles that are there, irrespective of the OEM that's delivering it. We actually find it easier to get there.…
So, what about you, Emily? Do you have another challenge that's been particularly difficult for you? What was the word you used? Tommy, you said an opportunity or something. We describe it as a headache. But what have been the most difficult opportunities you face? Let's put it that way.