DETROIT - The car industry has developed a love-hate relationship with electric and hybrid vehicles €" they love to talk about the future of these cars but hate to look at the disappointing sales numbers, the Washington Post reports. During the 24th annual Detroit auto show, automobile makers revealed their plans for hybrid and electric vehicles.

For example, Ford said it would no longer make the gas-electric Escape SUV because of plummeting sales, but that it would offer three new Fusion cars, including plug-in and gas-electric models.

With plug-in cars like the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf failing to live up to forecast sales, the U.S. hybrid vehicle market captured a measly 2.2% of auto sales last year, a slight dip from 2010. However, some don€™t see those numbers as spelling the end for electric or hybrid cars. As Randy Essex and Ben Holland of the Rocky Mountain Institute point out, the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight had sales just shy of 10,000 when they debuted in 2000, but today more than 2 million are on the road.

Ford is taking that to heart, estimating that 10% of its sales will be hybrids or plug-ins by 2020. With fuel-economy standards pushing gasoline averages up to 54.5 millions per gallon by 2025, automakers have even more reason to develop violable €" and consumer-pleasing €" electric vehicles.

"The majority of people near-term are going to hybrids," said Alan R. Mulally, Ford CEO. "They€™re just so flexible."

Meanwhile, more options for charging electric cars have been springing up around the country. Kohl€™s recently announced it would add chargers at 33 locations. But speculation over whether the White House€™s investment of $5 billion in incentives to the electric car industry has been money well spent has dampened enthusiasm for hybrid vehicles.