Honduras has signed a major contract with German vehicle identification specialist Tönnjes to supply approximately 2.9 million smart RFID licence plates, marking one of the largest deployments of RFID-enabled registration plates in Latin America.
The agreement, signed in Tegucigalpa on July 22, covers a three-and-a-half-year rollout that aims to replace the provisional paper permits that hundreds of thousands of Honduran drivers have been forced to rely on since 2023. A backlog of more than one million plates had built up in the country, leaving motorists without permanent metal registration.
Juan Carlos García, Minister of the Presidency and head of the Instituto de la Propiedad, signed on behalf of the Honduran government, while Lucía Mausen, Sales Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, represented Tönnjes. President Nasry Asfura and German Ambassador Daniela Vogl attended the ceremony as guests.
The project goes well beyond simply manufacturing plates. Tönnjes will construct a dedicated production facility in Honduras and deliver RFID security stickers alongside the plates themselves. These stickers, sometimes referred to as a “third plate,” are designed for windscreens on cars and headlamps on two-wheelers, providing an additional layer of vehicle authentication.
Each smart plate uses embedded RFID technology combined with digital authentication to allow real-time vehicle identification. A central digital platform will give authorities instant access to vehicle information, helping to combat counterfeiting and improve road safety. The technology is particularly well suited to countries tackling large-scale registration backlogs, where manual verification systems struggle to keep pace.
For Tönnjes, the Honduras contract reinforces the company’s growing presence in the Latin American market. The firm operates more than 50 locations worldwide, employs roughly 2,000 people, and works with governments in over 120 countries on secure vehicle identification systems. RFID-enabled licence plates have become a cornerstone of its product range, offering governments a way to digitise vehicle registries and reduce fraud.
The deal also highlights a broader trend across emerging markets, where governments are turning to RFID and smart plate technology to modernise ageing vehicle registration infrastructure. With nearly three million plates to produce and deploy, the Honduras project will be one of the most closely watched implementations in the sector over the coming years.
Read more at https://www.toennjes.com/en/news/honduras-introduces-smart-vehicle-licence-plates-from-toennjes/