The reintroduction of old local codes has met with great interest since 2012. According to the study by Heilbronn University, almost seven million cars, motorcycles, and trailers have been registered with the 336 reactivated homeland license plates since then. Since the reform, rural districts and independent cities have been allowed to issue additional letter combinations on license plates to show a connection to the home region.
The Bundesrat wants to expand this option. In a motion introduced by Hesse and Lower Saxony in March, the chamber of states calls for municipalities without their own registration district to be able to issue their own license plates in the future. This would affect around 10.5 million people in cities and municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants – such as Schifferstadt in Rhineland-Palatinate, Panketal in Brandenburg, or Nagold in Baden-Württemberg.
Study author Ralf Bochert, professor of destination management at Heilbronn University, had not expected such great interest. “There is a great desire among the population for more local identification through the place code on license plates,” he said. The most popular homeland license plate is MO for Moers – it is on over 128,000 vehicles. Mayor Julia Zupancic calls the old license plate a “sympathetic and at the same time free ambassador” for the city.
Source: Tagesschau
