They’ve been around plenty long enough (I purchased my first one 9 years ago, a BMW i3, it’s still on the road), the causes of battery degradation are well understood, as are the methods for recycling and reuse of all sorts of battery chemistries.
Yes, absolutely agreed, and I’d vote for any government that would take it on and do it properly. Alas, I don’t see that happening, so for now we’re relying on transition to a least worst option.I think the real answer will be to drastically reduce the number of private vehicles and ramp up clean, fast, and cheap public transport.