It's not as much less complicated as you think, and keep in mind that there are a lot of useful side effects of ICEs: for example, the refrigerant/AC compressor can be run directly off the engine, the heat from the engine can be used to heat the cab, the cooling loops can be cycled by pumps powered directly by the engine.
When it comes to the pure drivetrain: yes, the transmission is simpler (though there still is almost always a transmission), but once you add in the accessories which make cars practical in bad weather, and the added chassis load (in the case of high-end EVs with close to gasoline car range), and the relative ease of mining and producing steel and other bulk materials vs. rare earth materials....
Well, it at least becomes a wash. For the foreseeable future, producing electric passenger vehicles that compete with their gas counterparts in a meaningful way will continue to be extremely energy and mineral intensive, and therefore expensive.
When it comes to the pure drivetrain: yes, the transmission is simpler (though there still is almost always a transmission), but once you add in the accessories which make cars practical in bad weather, and the added chassis load (in the case of high-end EVs with close to gasoline car range), and the relative ease of mining and producing steel and other bulk materials vs. rare earth materials....
Well, it at least becomes a wash. For the foreseeable future, producing electric passenger vehicles that compete with their gas counterparts in a meaningful way will continue to be extremely energy and mineral intensive, and therefore expensive.