EV manufacturers are at a critical moment right now, as electric vehicles are just starting to become normalized in many places in the US and abroad. Thanks to their tireless PR work and impressive products, brands like Tesla have managed to become mainstream players, and traditional automakers like GM and BMW have entered the EV field too.

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But, like with any industry, there's a few things that EV manufacturers would prefer to gloss over. It might be that these issues undermine the marketing messages that brands put out, or it might even be that revealing the truth would put some buyers off an EV altogether. Whatever the reason they're not talked about, let's round-up ten uncomfortable truths that many EV carmakers would rather customers didn't know about.

10 EVs Have Been Around For Decades

GM EV1
Via Wikimedia Commons

Many EV companies would like buyers to think that EVs are a futuristic idea, something that's new and cutting-edge. While many companies are very innovative with the technology they're putting into their cars, the actual idea of EVs has been around for decades.

GM EV1
Via Wikimedia Commons

The first mass-produced EV is considered to be the GM EV1, which was released in 1996. Just over 1,000 models were produced, most of which were curiously bought back by GM and destroyed, hence they're very rare today. Are today's EVs becoming more practical, more powerful, and more desirable? Absolutely. Is the mass-produced EV a new phenomenon? Absolutely not.

9 Most Owners Will Need Home Charging Stations

Honda e with a charge point
Via Honda

Even with the ever-increasing ranges of modern EVs, it's likely that owners will want to charge up their vehicles at home. After all, those who don't live near a charging station will find it very inconvenient to drive to one every time their car gets low. It's not an issue for owners with big private driveways and lots of space, but for many others, it poses a problem.

A Tesla with a home charging point
Via Tesla

Anyone who lives in an apartment or has to park on the street won't be able to install a home charge point. Fast-charging cars are all well and good, but until there's more infrastructure in place for EVs, many people will be excluded from buying one just because of the house they live in.

8 Range Can Be Much Less Than The Manufacturer Claims

Audi E-Tron
Via Audi Media Center

It's a well-known fact that car manufacturers will regularly stretch the truth when marketing their cars, but most of the time those exaggerations are harmless. However, exaggerating the range of an EV is no laughing matter.

Audi E-Tron
Via Audi Media Center

Manufacturers will often test their cars in optimal conditions, on completely flat surfaces, and at a constant speed. In some cases like the Audi E-Tron, reviewers have found that the car's realistic range is about 25% less than what's claimed by Audi. That's a serious difference and it effectively amounts to deceiving customers about the capabilities of their car.

7 Manufacturing EVs Isn't Very Environmentally Friendly

VW's EV car factory
Siemens Press

One of the supposed key benefits of switching to EVs over oil-fueled vehicles is that it's supposedly better for the environment, but there are pros and cons to both. Of course, electric cars don't produce emissions, but studies have shown that manufacturing an electric car produces about 60% extra carbon footprint than with a traditional gasoline-fueled vehicle. Electricity in many countries is also still generated via fossil fuels, so charging up an EV can still indirectly mean burning oil and coal.

A lithium mine
Via SAMCO Tech

There's also the issue of the raw materials used to make EVs, including lithium. Lithium uses huge amounts of water to extract from the Earth and requires vast mines to be dug, ruining habitats and draining local water supplies. So, despite the green energy, the squeaky-clean image of most EV manufacturers, behind the scenes, there's still a lot of pollution being generated.

6 Build Quality Varies A Lot

Tesla Panel Gaps
Via YouTube / Car Confections

In a sector where so many companies are new and trying to find their feet, it should be no surprise that builds quality of many EV manufacturers isn't as good as more established automakers. Even so, it's pretty shocking to see some of the issues, which range from misaligned body panels to jury-rigged fixes.

RELATED: 10 Awesome EVs We'd Buy Over A Tesla

Tesla Model Y quality issue
Via Facebook

One particularly odd discovery was made inside a Tesla Model Y, where an owner was deconstructing their car and found an internal unit that was literally held in place by lines of green tape. It wasn't a dangerous defect, but owners would expect better build quality in a car that can cost upwards of $60,000 to purchase.

5 EVs Can Be A Fire Risk

Hyundai Kona remains
Via YouTube / Burn Piston

Absolutely nobody wants a car that might catch fire, but there have been several worrying incidents and recalls involving electric vehicles in recent years. Now, this is by no means a problem exclusive to EVs, nor is there any evidence that EVs catch fire at a higher rate than gasoline-powered cars.

Burnt Fisker Karma
Via Reddit

The problem really comes in dealing with an EV that's on fire. Many fire brigades don't yet have the necessary equipment to deal with large electrical fires, which means it's often safer to just let the fire burn itself out. So, what can start as a relatively minor fire can easily spread to destroy the whole car, and there might not be much that a fire crew can do about it.

4 One EV Maker Allegedly Fakes Vehicle Orders

Lordstown Motors Endurance
Via Lordstown Motors

Buyers choosing a car usually do so based on their needs, but there's also a desirability factor in there too. To convince buyers to put cash down for their product, EV companies need to make it seem already popular. American EV truck maker Lordstown Motors was recently accused by short-seller Hindenburg Research of faking its order book, to the tune of tens of thousands of fictitious customers.

Lordstown Motors Endurance
caranddriver.com

Hindenburg alleges the orders are mostly made up of companies that don't exist, or contracts that can never be fulfilled. Lordstown's CEO has so far denied the accusations, but the carmaker's stock price has plummeted.

3 Carmakers Often Lose Money On EVs

Porsche Taycan Turbo
Via Porsche

It might seem illogical for anyone to invest in a company that consistently loses money, but for years that's what investors to EV companies have been doing. Even market leaders like Tesla have only just started to break even, as the costs are so huge for developing and producing these vehicles.

RELATED: These Car Companies Are Now In Big Trouble

Mercedes-Benz EQC
Via Mercedes-Benz

Even more established manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz and Porsche have reported huge losses on their EV developments, although they can offset them as they make so much money selling ICE cars. Eventually, it's expected that EVs will become a big moneymaker, but for now, buying an electric car might well mean the carmaker will lose cash overall.

2 Batteries Degrade Quickly

Land Rover Range Rover Velar range estimate
Via Land Rover Media

It's a common criticism of electric cars, but it's very much a valid one. Whereas a gasoline car will consistently be able to do the same mileage on a tank, an EV will start to decrease in range every time it's recharged. At first, this won't be noticeable, but over years and years range can be drastically reduced.

Nissan Leaf
Via Nissan Newsroom

Even an EV that's just a few years old will have likely lost a significant portion of its range, with reports that Nissan Leafs lose 9.9% capacity per annum. That means the car's lifespan will likely be significantly shorter than a gasoline car, or the owner will have to fork out for pricey new batteries.

1 EVs Aren't Replacing ICE Cars Just Yet

Ford F-150
Via Classic Cars

There's so much noise about EVs being the future and gasoline cars being phased out that it's easy to forget the reality of the situation. Especially in the US, owners will quite happily drive their cars and trucks for decades. So, even if new ICE cars are banned from sale in the next decade or two, it'll likely be several more decades after that until a majority of the cars on US roads are electric.

Chevy Impala
Via Wikimedia Commons

Even then, there will likely be plenty of owners who are happy with their gas-powered vehicles and continue to use them daily. It's a useful sales tactic for EV manufacturers to convince customers they'll be left behind if they don't buy an EV today, but the truth is that traditional ICE cars aren't going anywhere yet.

NEXT: These Are The Best Electric SUVs Arriving In The Near Future