While “safety” may be the justification, I doubt it has anything to do with the motivation. The motivation will be money. The normalisation of small, inexpensi

While “safety” may be the justification, I doubt it has anything to do with the motivation. The motivation will be money. The normalisation of small, inexpensive cars would have a serious impact on the American car industry, which prefers to sell larger, less efficient vehicles as the minimum vehicle. (At roughly 5x the price) If demand developed for small, inexpensive vehicles they would be at a severe disadvantage to a wide range of manufacturers that currently supply these types of vehicles to nations around the globe. The rise of electric vehicles would compound this problem, since electric mini vehicles with limited range and speed (but perfect for local use) are common on the global market at the 3000-4000(usd) price point. There is also a similar class of internal combustion powered vehicles with around 300cc motors at that price point as well. I would estimate that between the micro-ICE and Electric types, they might easily take over a 10% market segment if allowed to.