... however, as a form of transport and motive power the internal combustion engine was a step-change improvement over the horse (by orders of magnitude) ....
Ultimately - yes it was a step change. But not initially. Speeds were in the same range for quite a while.
A major technology change often leads to a reduction in initial performance (Pagers had far better radio performance than mobile phones for quite a while). The new technology, once it becomes mainstream, will overtake in the areas that matter to most consumers although there will still be people who will hang on to something old for nostalgic or quality reasons (valve amplifiers for example).
Just a few examples:
Carburettors - replaced by Fuel Injection
Steam Railways - replaced by Diesel initially
Steam Ships - replaced by Diesel / Fuel Oil
Compact Disc - replaced by downloaded / streamed Music
EVs will get better. Batteries are already developing very quickly and the current state of battery development is delivering longer lifespans than predicted.
Today, EVs only move the point of pollution from the car to the power station which is not ideal. However, the rapid development of more and better power generation technology will, over time, deal with that issue. In the mean time, a shift to EVs will lead to lower pollution levels in our major cities - recognised to be a significant issue throughout Europe.
