France: French museum joins the number plates bug count
France's Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (National Museum of Natural History) is asking drivers and passengers to help monitor the decline of insect populations by photographing their number plates and using the Bugs Matter phone app. Regtransfers reported previously on the survey, which was introduced in the UK by Kent Wildlife Trust and the conservation charity Buglife. France is now joining the data collection effort.
The Bugs Matter campaign has already analysed over 25,000 vehicle journeys, revealing that, since 2001, flying insect populations have suffered an average annual decline of 19%.
The way the survey works is as follows. People download the free app to their phones and then take photographs of the front number plates of the vehicles they travel in. Plates are cleaned before a trip and photographed. At the end of the journey, the plate is photographed again, without cleaning. The app's artificial intelligence counts and identifies the insects that were unfortunate to collide with the number plate during the journey.
Number plates are used rather than windscreens, as plates are a standard size whereas windscreens vary widely. In the interests of accurate analysis, the data comes from the consistently sized surface offered by number plates.
The data collection period is from April to September. The museum hopes to recruit at least 1,000 participants.
Ghana: DVLA to replace faulty number plates for free
Ghana's Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority has announced that it will provide free replacements for a batch of 2026 number plates suffering a defect that causes the characters to fade.
The DVLA said, “Routine quality checks revealed that some plates did not meet the Authority’s durability standards, causing the printed characters to fade”.
Distribution of the existing stock of number plates was halted immediately. The DVLA's statement went on to say, "Once detected, the affected batch was immediately withdrawn from circulation, although some plates had already been issued.”
Drivers whose vehicles have already been fitted with the 2026 embossed number plates have been asked to visit any DVLA office in the country to arrange for their free replacement plates.
The DVLA said, “We apologise for the inconvenience caused and take full responsibility for the oversight. The DVLA is strengthening its quality assurance processes to prevent a recurrence and remains committed to delivering safe, reliable and high-quality vehicle registration services.”
Australia: State of Victoria offers drivers one extra character on plates
The Australian state of Victoria has announced the introduction of seven-character licence plates. A limited “Seven Reserve” release will be offered at auction before the state considers expanding availability.
The auction, to be held on the 26th May 2026, will be aimed primarily at enthusiasts and collectors. There will be only 12 seven-character plates on offer at this first sale. Eleven of the plates will feature fixed combinations of predetermined characters, but one exclusive lot will allow the winning bidder to select their own choice of characters, subject to current rules.
In addition to the customisable "winners choice" lot, the combinations offered in the auction will be 1111111, AAAAAAA, MCLAREN, 1234567, 6666666, PORSCHE, 7654321, XXXXXXX, 9999999, 8888888 and FERRARI.
The sale represents a significant change for Victoria's number plate system. While a number of other Australian states already offer seven-character plates, drivers in Victoria have been constrained by a maximum six-character limit when choosing their licence plates. The additional character will increase the customisation possibilities available, appealing to personalised plate fans as well as businesses seeking branding options for their vehicles.
VicRoads Registration and Licensing Services said the rollout of seven-character number plates had been deliberately designed as a premium offering. A spokesman said, “Seven-character plates unlock a new tier of personalisation for collectors who value uniqueness and distinction.”
Indications are that a wider rollout of seven-character plates would be received positively, as Victoria residents have proved to be enthusiastic about private licence plates. The state has more than 6.8 million registered vehicles, of which roughly one in four cars has custom number plates.
Greece: Zinc shortage delays number plate production
New car deliveries in Greece have been delayed by a shortage of number plates. Greek number plates, like those in the USA, are made from a metal alloy, and their manufacture was interrupted by a shortage of zinc that lasted long enough to create a significant backlog in the supply chain.
Car registration services across the country have been affected and purchasers of new vehicles have had to wait weeks or, in some cases, months before being able to drive their new cars on the road. Uncertainty caused by the ongoing delays even prompted some customers to cancel their car orders.
Greece's Ministry of Transport insisted that the supply issue was now being resolved and said that tens of thousands of new plates had already been distributed. However, the ministry did acknowledge that the situation had exposed weaknesses in the production and distribution systems.
