Clearances

[dukealien]

Electric cars burn
rarely, you’ll learn,
and ICE cars burn more,
since the days of Jerome Kern.

Clever, though I had to look up the Jerome Kern reference (d.1945)..."Smoke Gets In Your Eyes?"

So far, electrics burn less frequently  because there are so few... but they do burn very fiercely.  Perhaps this can be solved with batteries based on iron rather than lithium... which would also fix the conflict-metals aspect.

Seriously, though, the reason electrics don't sell (especially used, which is another dark cloud on their horizon) is that they aren't exactly cars, consequently a niche market.  They're several sigmas above the automobile mainstream for acceleration and eco-compliance (if charged from nuclear), but against that they're  off the scale for repair and insurance cost (fragility), "fueling" time, and range insecurity.  They also have a no-chicken-no-egg problem with charging stations:  until there are more electrics on the hoof, no one will create charging stations for them... and until there are adequate charging facilities, sensible people won't buy electrics.  Government trying to pry that dilemma open works about as well as other government interventions in markets.

As for simply outlawing ICE vehicles, well, there's already one mainland China.  No need to create another.

Personally, I drive a hybrid - definitely the best car I've owned.  It participates moderately in the acceleration and eco-compliance advantages without the disadvantages, for a reasonable bump in initial cost.  Electrics are the Schlieffen Plan:  it can't work, but it HAS to work, so we'll pretend it will work and ignore evidence to the contrary.  Of such are tragedies made.  And smoke *does* get in your eyes.  Jerome Kern died on Armistice Day, 1945.