The Dutch cabinet’s policy of stimulating the use of energy-efficient cars is hampering the development of self-driving cars, Carlo van de Weijer, director of the smart mobility unit at Eindhoven University, says in this weekend’s Volkskrant.

The Dutch are buying more small cars because of the drive for energy efficiency but they don’t contain the computer systems which can carry out some self-drive functions, Van de Weijer told the paper.

This means the Netherlands is trailing other European countries when it comes to driving cars with systems which automatically keep them in lanes or which help prevent head-on collisions, he said.

Experts consider these steps as essential in the move towards cars which drive themselves.

Earlier this year, transport minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen said the Netherlands should have a pioneering role in the development of self-driving vehicles.

Just 3.2% of the cars on Dutch roads contain ‘advanced driver assistance systems’, compared with 4.2% in Europe as a whole, research by Eindhoven and Delft universities shows.

In addition, just 5% of Dutch cars have headlamps which adjust automatically, compared with 12% in Europe.