its called society. Everywhere you turn the ‘nanny’ state restricts what you can and can’t do, in an attempt to find a balance that works for most people.
I get that completely. There is however sometimes an irrationality about government and its legislation v market forces. I'm more an advocate of goverment using carrots as much as sticks to make people change. Want to get people off ICE, gradually increase VED to the point where it's not viable for many over the next 10 years rather than the current approach where after 5 years the premium rate for luxury cars drops off.
Take a wholesale look at Euro 5.6 and7 and what was all that about if you're scrapping EVs
Review infrastructure support to make EV long distance driving more feasible, scrap VAT for the next 5 years on public chargers, and give 125% capital allowances (if they don;t already qualify) to peg electricity prices say 30% below that of the equivalent petrol or diesel costs on a site by site basis. So if a service statin sell petrol at £8 a gallon that does a typical 40 miles, or 20p a mile, then electricity needs to be no more than 3 miles per kwh * 20p * 70% = 42p kwh. Want to charge more for electricity, you charge more for petrol and diesel.
Look to California and make brands have an increasing heavy EV mix in their sales. Rather than an outright ban in 5 years, make it 50% by volume of sales by brand need to be pure EV, If the economics require it manufacturers will discount EVs to be able to sell ICE or to ensure the balance is right. Aston Martin had the Cygnet thing to bring their average emissions down.
Look at manufacturers production emissions. Cars containing a high propotion of recycled materials and built in a carbon neutral factory (the i3 was one of the first)
Blunt bans don't really help anyone especially if you subsequently move the goal posts which has been happening, and they don't help the aging market where people will potentially run older ICE cars well beyond their sell by date and producing worse emissions.
But the notion that a company that makes something like 20 different product variations is trying to control choice is somewhat laughable compared to Tesla making only 2 RHD variants.