[poxrud]

That is incorrect, as per the article Kia ties the VIN number to the car’s functionality. The author used a 3rd party service to convert the license plate number to VIN.

[Tempest1981]

Maybe this? $0.05 per request

https://platetovin.com/about#pricing

But how are they getting the data?

[bombcar]

Most states have the data publicly available if you know where to look or how to request.