By Sarah Tate
May 5, 2021
WXII reports.
The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles' program, passed into law by the General Assembly, replaces license plates that are more than six years old. The replacement program was set to begin July 1, 2020, but the pandemic caused it to be pushed back until 2021. Now it's facing a new challenge: a shortage of the aluminum needed to created the plates.
According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the DMV usually produces between 400 and 500 first-time license plates each day. The plate replacement program would increase production by around 10 times that number. The aluminum shortage greatly impacts production, so by halting the program, the department is ensuring there is enough of the lightweight metal to produce first-time plates.