Actually from all technologies energy production has been the best predictor of number of people living on Earth, so I believe many people would die if those cars weren't distributed to save energy.
The problem with that is that it's extremely political, it can't be done by a private company.
For example when I was living in Switzerland I used public transport because I was lazy to use a car, as it's so much more hassle.
I went to Mountain View, California to a business trip, and wanted to do the same thing (as I was used to public transport), and I couldn't even find a way to go to a supermarket, as the closest one to my corp apartment was 40 minutes walk away :(
I decided to rent a car because the closest car rental was closer than a place to eat at...as a European it sounds crazy, but it's true.