Ford the first OEM to offer digital license plate

Looks like Ford will be the OEM to break the seal on offering digital license plates to its customers. The automaker entered into an agreement with Reviver, maker of the RPlate Digital License Plate, to add the RPlate to Ford's official accessory catalog with a unique part number. Someone buying a Ford at a dealership can buy a plate at the dealer's in-store merchandise shop and have it installed there, or hit up Ford's online store and have an RPlate delivered. This is a limited rollout to start, the plates available at 300 Ford dealers in the states that have approved the RPlate for consumer use: Arizona, California and Michigan. Drivers might see RPlates in Texas, but for the moment they're limited to use in commercial and governmental fleets.

Reviver, after years developing its e-Ink screen and digital plate, launched a pilot program with the state of California in 2018. At the time, the plate with a replaceable battery started at about $699 and required a $7 monthly service charge. With scale has come slightly lower costs, Reviver selling that same plate for $599 and the annual service plan for $75 per year. A second plate option is mounted to the vehicle and hardwired into the vehicle's electrical system; it runs $749 plus $150 for installation and $95 per year for the service plan. The battery in the user-installed model is said to be good for five years, the hardwired RPlate option is especially geared to fleets.

RPlates are only mounted on the rear for now, so states that require front plates would insist on an old-fashioned metal unit screwed to the front fascia. The plates are legal to use in all 50 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico.