Tönnjes Wins Honduras Smart Licence Plate Contract

German vehicle identification specialist Tönnjes has secured a contract to supply around 2.9 million RFID-enabled smart licence plates and security stickers for Honduras as part of a nationwide vehicle registration modernisation programme.

The three-and-a-half-year project will introduce Tönnjes’ IDePLATE® system, helping Honduras address a backlog of more than 1 million outstanding licence plates while meeting registration demand through 2030.

As part of the programme, Tönnjes will establish a local production facility in Honduras, strengthening domestic manufacturing capacity and supporting the development of local production capabilities.

The adopted IDePLATE system consists of a metal IDePLATE licence plate and an IDeSTIX tamper-evident security sticker. Both incorporate RAIN RFID technology, enabling electronic vehicle identification in stationary and moving traffic.

The IDeSTIX sticker, applied to the windscreen of passenger vehicles or the headlamp of motorcycles, provides an additional layer of protection against cloning, theft and vehicle registration fraud. Often described as a ‘third plate’, it can also incorporate additional security features, depending on customer requirements, including holograms and QR codes.

The technology also has applications beyond government vehicle registration. Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian energy company, uses the IDeSTIX windscreen sticker to manage access routes for employees on its premises.

The Honduras programme further strengthens Tönnjes’ presence in Latin America, where governments are increasingly exploring digital vehicle identification technologies to improve road safety and modernise transport administration.

Tönnjes is also expanding its vehicle identification portfolio with new authentication technologies. Among its latest developments is a hybrid chip developed in collaboration with Swiss semiconductor manufacturer EM Microelectronic. The secure dual-frequency RAIN RFID and NFC tag combines long-range vehicle identification with smartphone-based verification.

The company is also broadening its security technology portfolio through its partnership with SICPA. This includes OPALINE®, an optical authentication technology designed to enable mid- and long-range verification of secure licence plates and provide an additional safeguard against counterfeiting.

The new smart plates are expected to gradually replace provisional paper permits used in Honduras since licence plate shortages emerged in 2023.