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Given the Wikipedia page about eSIM says:

The European Commission selected the eUICC format for its in-vehicle emergency call service, known as eCall, in 2012.[23] All new car models in the EU must have one by 2018 to instantly connect the car to emergency services in case of an accident.[24]

I'd say they have been around since then.

edit: here is a great talk about how eSIMs work from last CCC https://media.ccc.de/v/camp2023-57190-demystifying_esim_tech...

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For a very long time now you have never needed a SIM to call emergency services. Maybe it's different in the EU but US car models that include telematics (ie Onstar) have been able to call emergency services without a subscription.

Shouldn't emergency services be accessible without a SIM? On the other hand, using a SIM allows government to track car's movement.

The cell modem has a separate unique identifier, so the government should be able to track sim-free devices.

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