German Chancellor Angela Merkel has reaffirmed her target to bring 1 million electric cars onto German roads by the end of the decade, despite weak interest from consumers.

Her government is hosting a two-day industry summit in Berlin to promote the fledgling technology, after fewer than 3,000 electric cars were sold in Germany last year out of a total market that exceeded 3 million.

The German auto industry plans to invest roughly 12 billion euros ($15.52 billion) in alternative powertrains, including battery-powered electric cars, in the next three to four years, according to industry association VDA.

“Driving electrically is no vision anymore, it’s a reality. Thousands of cars are already on our roads and by the end of the next year, German carmakers will have at least 16 electric series production cars on sale,” VDA President Matthias Wissmann said.

Merkel affirmed her target in a statement, stressing the importance of cross-border cooperation.

Once hyped as a technology that would revolutionize the auto industry and eventually crowd out conventional cars, sales have barely taken off due to high costs and range limitations.

According to a survey of roughly 1,000 German drivers by the country’s motoring club ADAC, Germans are much more skeptical about the technology than two years ago and less willing to accept inconveniences like long charging times.

ADAC said today that nearly half of all German car owners are unwilling to pay extra for an electric car for their next purchase. The low interest in Germany is nothing unique.