ReviverMX, which developed the first digital license plate, announced its products will now be sold through Best Buy and the company is also looking to beef up its presence in independent aftermarket car audio shops.
Reviver offers the Rplate and Rplate Pro that allow easy online automobile registration with the DMV through an app. They also allow personal custom messages on the license plate such as a sports team logo. The step up Rplate Pro, which is installed professionally, offers GPS location, geofencing and other features. In the future, the plate may allow virtual payments for parking, tolls and other items.
Currently Rplate is sold in California and Arizona, but many other states are expected to be added this year. Best Buy has about 165 locations in those states and plans to add the product in other locations as more state approve the product.
Eleven states are currently in the approval process with Michigan and Georgia expected to rollout in Q2 followed by Illinois by the end of the year. Texas will be allowing fleets to use the Rplate, and Reviver is working on getting approval for passenger cars in the state. Pilot programs are now in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
“We’re making our way across the US,” said CEO Neville Boston. Two years from now, the plates are expected to be legal in at least half of the US, he said. By that time, “I would love to see us in over 100 independent shops,” he added. Currently only about 10 car audio shops carry the products.
The main use for the license plates presently is the digital registration renewal through the app. About 75 days out, a consumer or fleet vehicle owner will get a notice in his app that the registration is due. He can pay it in two clicks and it is approved in about 48 hours. Reviver will also be offering the plate through car dealerships. It is also working with Arizona State University to offer the plate to students, and it expects to also work with other universities.
The basic Rplate is battery operated with Bluetooth and LTE through Verizon and AT&T. It can be self installed in 5 to 10 minutes and it pairs with a smartphone. The Rplate Pro is professionally installed and has GPS and an accelerometer so you can get GPS features. Fleets can see bread crumb tracking.
In the future, Reviver hopes drivers can use the plate as a parking meter, and as a digital wallet to pay for parking spaces. It might also be a virtual wallet for other payments and provide toll payments and allow route management for fleets.
The plates can be personalized with different states allowing different messages and logos.
i wonder if they ever cleared up and addressed the non-stop location tracking and other privacy concerns…..
What’s not noted is that if you’re allowed to change the background of the license plate at will? Or once you pick something, it’s in the state’s records and you cannot switch NFL teams mid-year, for example.