The owners of electric cars and hydrogen-powered cars could pay lower parking fees from 2023 to stimulate clean car use, junior infrastructure minister Vivianne Heijnen said in a briefing to MPs on Thursday.

Heijen is going to adapt local legislation to include the measure but it will still be up to local councils to adopt it.

Amsterdam is currently the most expensive place to park, charging up to €568 a year in the city centre, while towns like IJsselstein in Utrecht and Valkenburg in Limburg have free parking, with a permit.

Reducing parking tariffs for clean cars will be ‘an extra tool for local councils to combat pollution and cut down on traffic noise in their town or village,’ Heijnen said.

The measure does not apply to hybrid cars or fuel-efficient cars, the junior minister added.

Currently, just 300,000 out of the Dutch fleet of nine million cars are considered emission free. The aim is to ban all petrol and diesel-powered cars by 2050.