Kenya's RFID-based electric vehicle detection investment

Kenya already digitised the registration and identification of its vehicles in 2016. Since then, all new cars and trucks receive an RFID sticker for the windscreen when they are registered. The German company TÖNNJES produces the so-called IDeSTIX.

Now the Kenyan National Transport & Safety Authority has placed another order with the international market leader for vehicle identification: more IDeSTIX 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

TÖNNJES’ products are used for electronic vehicle identification (or EVI). “Kenya uses the IDeSTIX as a third number plate,” explained Managing Director Jochen Betz. The sticker contains a RAIN RFID (radio-frequency identification) 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 IDeSTIX 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 IDeSTIX, Kenya uses only part of the TÖNNJES portfolio. The EVI system includes, among other things, the IDePLATE – 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. TÖNNJES is active in more than 50 locations with its joint ventures and pursues the goal of giving every vehicle a unique identity in order to increase global traffic safety.