Ford's latest dealer accessory: digital number plates

Ford has added digital number plates to its dealer accessory registry for customers in the US states of Arizona, California and Michigan.

Reviver, responsible for the “RPlate”, announced it’s partnering with Ford.

The Blue Oval will be the first manufacturer to offer a digital licence plate at a dealer level, meaning customers can purchase the accessory at the time of buying their new car.

According to the company’s website, after a trial in 2016, Reviver successfully received approval from the state of California to introduce the technology to vehicles. Arizona and Michigan later approved the technology.

The plate itself costs US$599 (A$937) to purchase and comes in either battery or wired setups. Rexviver gives customers 60 days’ free membership access, which allows drivers to:

• customise their number plate with colours and fonts
• access GPS data – if they purchase a wired plate
• digitally display if the vehicle is stolen
• assist with registration renewal
• display the registration expiry date on the number plate

After 60 days, customers will be charged US$8/month (A$12.51) or US$75/year (A$117.36) for battery powered RPlates, or US$10/month (A$15.65) or US$95/year (A$148.66) for wired RPlates.