02/10/2022

Tonnjes wins order for Kenya's electronic vehicle ID system

Nairobi, Kenya and Germany

In 2016, Kenya digitised the registration and identification of its vehicles, and since then, all new cars and trucks receive an RFID sticker for the windscreen when they are registered. The German company Tonnjes produces the so-called ID e Stix. And now, the Kenyan National Transport & Safety Authority (NTSA) has placed another order with the international market leader for vehicle identification: more ID e Stix are to be delivered to the East African state by the end of 2023. In future, the stickers will also have a 2D code and a serial number.

Contactless identification and highly secure encryption technology

Tonnjes’ products are used for Electronic Vehicle Identification, EVI for short. “Kenya uses the ID e Stix as a third number plate,” explains Managing Director Jochen Betz. The sticker contains a Rain RFID chip on which a multi-encrypted, unique identification number is stored. This can be assigned to the corresponding vehicle information in the NTSA database. Only authorised readers can decipher the number. “In this way, the police can immediately see whether the information on the ID e Stix matches the other number plates on the car,” says Betz.

More certainty in the used car trade

The RFID stickers, which are also used by the Philippines or the Saudi Arabian oil production company Saudi Aramco, are personalised on site when they are issued and provided with a QR code. Anyone with a smartphone at hand can scan it and see the characteristics such as registration number, car colour, make and model. “This makes fraud much more difficult, especially when selling used cars,” explains Jochen Betz. Simply removing the sticker to hide a theft, for example, does not work because it destroys itself when removed.

With ID e Stix, Kenya uses only part of the Tonnjes portfolio. The EVI system includes, among other things, the ID e Plate – a number plate made of aluminium with an integrated Rain RFID chip – as well as mobile and stationary readers. The company’s hardware and software also enable a range of smart mobility applications such as contactless traffic management or parking systems.

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