Vehicle identification number

Vehicle identification number of the GM-T platform next to the passenger seat

Vehicle identification number of a US vehicle under the windshield

The vehicle identification number ( VIN ) ( English vehicle identification number , VIN ) corresponds to the international adjustments taking into account the former VIN and is also commonly known as before and widely referred to that way. The VIN is the internationally standardized, 17-digit serial number with which a motor vehicle can be clearly identified. It consists of a manufacturer identifier (World Manufacturer Identifier), for example W0L for Opel and Vauxhall , WDB for Daimler AG , WVW for Volkswagen , WF0 for Ford (Germany) or VF7 for Citroën , a manufacturer-specific key and one that is mostly dependent on the year of manufacture. consecutive number. Some manufacturers are assigned several manufacturer IDs. The internationally standardized VIN was brought into being by EU regulation 76/114 / EEC in 1981 and replaced the manufacturer-specific chassis number that had been used until then to uniquely identify a car. This former name was partly obsolete as cars often no separate since the 1930s chassis , but self-supporting bodies had while commercial vehicles and motorcycles continue to have more than one chassis. Among other things, the VIN is still stamped into the chassis, if present, otherwise into the body.

Example of a VIN for an Opel or Vauxhall : W0L000051T2123456.

Attachment

The number can be found in the vehicle registration document and several times on the vehicle itself, usually in the engine compartment or on the right-hand side of the vehicle. For US vehicles or vehicles intended for this market, it is attached to the lower left of the windshield and is visible from the outside. For reasons of security against manipulation, it is present several times and is hammered in or deep-drawn . Until the first registration on October 1, 1969, the VIN can be engraved or attached to a separate riveted metal plate.

Structure of the VIN

There are two different standards for the VIN. Manufacturers in the countries of the European Union use the ISO standard 3779, while North American manufacturers use a stricter system that is compliant with the ISO standard.

Only the following Arabic numerals and Latin capital letters may be used in a VIN:

1234567890 ABCDEFGH JKLMN P RSTUVWXYZ

The letters I, O and Q are blocked due to the high risk of confusion with the digits 0 and 1.

Job	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	17th
example	S.	B.	1	6th	4th	A.	B.	N	1	P	E.	0	8th	2	9	8th	6th
ISO 3779	World Manufacturer Code (World manufacturer identification WMI)			vehicle descriptive part (Vehicle descriptor section VDS)						consecutive number (Vehicle indicator section VIS)
North America	World manufacturer code			Series, engine type and equipment					Check digit	Model year	Manufacturing plant	consecutive number

species

European FIN from 1981

The vehicle identification number was assigned in Europe according to Directive 76/114 / EEC. However, this directive was repealed with effect from November 1, 2014 in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 661/2009. It has been replaced by EU regulation 19/2011, which does not differ from 76/114 / EEC with regard to the description of the structure of the VIN.

Before 1981 there were no generally binding standards for this number, so that vehicle manufacturers then used individually assigned chassis numbers.

In Germany, the manufacturer's obligation to attach the VIN is regulated in Section 59 (1) no. 4 StVZO and the storage of the VIN in the Central Vehicle Register in Section 33 (1) no. 1 StVG .

Job	meaning
1-3	World Manufacturer Code (WMI)
4-9	Series: Can be specified by the manufacturer. Characters that are not used must be filled with letters or numbers (at the discretion of the manufacturer). At VW / Audi z. For example, the normally unused positions 4–6 are filled with ZZZ, at Opel / Vauxhall positions 4–7 are filled with 0000.
10	Model year code: The year of manufacture is determined by ISO standard 3779-1983. The characters 123456789 ABCDEFGH JKLMN P RST VWXY each encode 30 years, beginning 1971. A 3 means 1973 or 2003. The characters I, O, Q, U and Z are not used due to the risk of confusion. The model year code does not necessarily match the year of manufacture: The model year begins e.g. E.g. at VW or Opel usually with the factory holidays of the previous year, a vehicle produced in October 2005 is given the model year number 6.
11	Manufacturer: At VW z. B. W = Wolfsburg, E = Emden, M = Puebla (Mexico), at Opel z. B. 1 = Rüsselsheim, 2 = Bochum
12-14	second part of the WMI, for WMIs its 3rd digit 9 , otherwise part of the consecutive numbering
12-17	consecutive ascending number

Positions 4–9 are adapted to the guidelines there for vehicles exported to the USA.

Example at Mercedes-Benz:

WDD 169 007-1J-236589

The WDD contains the code for Germany (W) and for the manufacturer Mercedes-Benz (DD, for other models also WDC / WDB). The following three digits stand for the model series 169 (A-Class). 007 is the code for body shape, engine and, for example, all-wheel drive etc. 1 for left-hand drive vehicles, J denotes the production facility (here Rastatt, for other models also F, B etc.). This is followed by the six consecutive digits.

Example at Volkswagen:

WVWZZZ1JZ3W386752

WVW - means German manufacturer Volkswagen

ZZZ - remains unused

1J - denotes model (here Golf IV or Bora )

3 - 2003 model year

W - Wolfsburg

386752 - is the number of the Golf IV / Bora manufactured in model year 2003.

Honda VIN (1979 to 1995)

The Vehicle Identify Number ( VIN ) was a Honda internal vehicle identification number that was used on motorcycles from 1979 to 1995 . It consisted of an 11-digit sequence of letters and numbers.

American VIN from 2003

The US-VIN is used in the USA, Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Jordan; in Israel a hybrid form of US and European standards is used.

Job	meaning
1-3	World manufacturer code
4th	Series: A = 450 (city-coupé), B = 452 (roadster / roadster-coupé)
5	Body shape: J = 3 (Coupé), K = 4 (Cabrio / Roadster)
6 + 7	Engine: 00 = 30 kW diesel engine, 30 = 37 kW gasoline engine, 32 = 45 kW gasoline engine, 33 = 35 kW gasoline engine, 34 = 60 kW gasoline engine, 35 = 40 kW gasoline engine
8th	Restraint systems: E = without side airbag, F = with side airbag
9	Check digit
10	Model year code: The year of manufacture is determined by ISO standard 3779-1983. The characters 123456789ABCDEFGHJKLMNPRSTVWXY each encode 30 years, starting in 1971. A 3 means 1973 or 2003. The characters I, O, Q, U and Z have been skipped due to the risk of confusion.
11	Manufacturing plant
12-17	consecutive ascending number

World Manufacturer Code (WMI)

The first three digits of the VIN identify the vehicle manufacturer according to the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI). It should be noted that the manufacturer refers to the sales brand here. When rebadging there are deviations, for example, is Opel Movano from SoVAB produced, however, carries the manufacturer's code of Opel .

Manufacturers with a production rate of less than 500 vehicles per year use the number 9 in the third position and the 12th to 14th positions of the VIN as the second part of the identification number. Some manufacturers use the third digit of the VIN to code the vehicle type (e.g. bus or truck), a part of the company, or a combination of both. Example: the manufacturer General Motors, manufacturer code 1G, uses code 1G1 for the brand Chevrolet (passenger car), 1G2 for the brand Pontiac (passenger car) and 1GC again for Chevrolet, but this code is only given to trucks.

WMI regions

The first letter of the world manufacturer code indicates the region of the manufacturer. In practice, each one is assigned to the country of manufacture. Manufacturers who jointly produce across borders are marked.

Frame from China

Vehicle identification number on the nameplate of an Audi 80 Type 8C

Vehicle identification number stamped into the partition wall of the engine compartment (Audi 80 Type 8C)

WMI	region	Remarks
AH	Africa	AA – AH = South Africa
J – R	Asia	J = Japan KL – KR = South Korea L = PR China MA – ME = India MF – MK = Indonesia ML – MR = Thailand PA – PE = Philippines PL – PR = Malaysia NL – NM = Turkey
S-Z	Europe	SA – SM = United Kingdom SN – ST = Germany SU – SZ = Poland TA – TH = Switzerland TJ – TP = Czech Republic TR – TV = Hungary UA – UM = Denmark UN – UT = Ireland UU – UZ = Romania U1 – U7 = Slovakia VA – VE = Austria VF – VR = France VS – VW = Spain VX – V2 = Yugoslavia W = Germany XL – XP = Netherlands XS – XW = USSR X3 – X0 = Russia YA – YE = Belgium YF – YK = Finland YS – YW = Sweden ZA – ZR = Italy
1-5	North America	1, 4, 5 = USA 2 = Canada 3 = Mexico
6-7	Australia / Oceania	6A-6W = Australia 7A-7E = New Zealand
8-0	South America	8A – 8E = Argentina 8X – 82 = Venezuela 9A – 9E = Brazil 9F – 9J = Colombia 93–99 = Brazil

List of common WMI

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) awards the WMI to countries and brands. The following list shows a small selection of shared world manufacturer codes.

WMI	Manufacturer brand
CL9	Wallyscar
YES	Isuzu
JF	Fuji Heavy Industries ( Subaru )
JH	Honda
JMB	Mitsubishi
JMZ	Mazda
JN	Nissan
JS	Suzuki
JT	Toyota Japan
KL	Daewoo
KMH	Hyundai (Korea)
KN	Kia
KNE	Kia (assembly not Korea)
KPT	Ssangyong
LFV	FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co.
SAJ	jaguar
SAL	Land Rover
SAR	rover
SCC	Lotus Cars
SUU	Solaris Bus & Coach
TMA	Hyundai (Czech Republic)
TMB	Škoda
TRU	Audi (Hungary)
UU	Dacia
U5Y	Kia (Slovakia, car)
U6Z	Kia (Slovakia, SUV)
VA0	ÖAF Gräf & Stift AG (Austria)
VFA	Alpine , now Renault
VF1	Renault
VF3	Peugeot
VF7	Citroën
VNK	Toyota France
VSK	Nissan Spain
VSS	Seat
WAG	Neoplan
WAU	Audi
WAP	ALPINA
WBA	BMW
WBS	BMW M GmbH
WBY	BMW i (electric)
WDB, W1K, W1N, WMX	Mercedes-Benz AG
WDC, WDD, WDF, WMX	DaimlerChrysler / Daimler AG (replaced by Mercedes-Benz AG in 2020)
WEB	EvoBus
WF0	Ford Germany
WGF	GFB GmbH
WJR	Irmscher
WKA	Kaeser compressors
WKK	Kässbohrer vehicle works
WLA	Langendorf GmbH
WMA	MAN
WME	Smart
WMW	MINI
WP0	Porsche
WP1	Porsche Cayenne , Porsche Macan
WSM	Schmitz Cargobull
WUA	Audi Sport GmbH
WVG	Volkswagen
WVM	VW-MAN
WVW	Volkswagen
WV1	Volkswagen commercial vehicles
WV2	Volkswagen commercial vehicles
W0L, W0V	Opel , Vauxhall
W0SV	Opel Special Vehicles
W08	Saturn Astra
W09	German manufacturers <500 vehicles
YK1	Saab
YS3	Saab
YV1	Volvo Cars
ZAR	Alfa Romeo
ZCF	Iveco
ZDF	Ferrari Dino
ZFA	Fiat
ZFF	Ferrari
ZHW	Lamborghini
ZLA	Lancia
ZAM	Maserati
1C	Chrysler
1F	Ford Motor Company
1G	General Motors
1G3	Oldsmobile
1GC	Chevrolet
1GM	Pontiac
1H	Honda USA
1y	jeep
1L	Lincoln
1M	Mercury
1N	Nissan USA
1VW	Volkswagen USA
1YV	Mazda USA
2F	Ford Motor Company Canada
2G	General Motors Canada
2G1	Chevrolet Canada
2G1	Pontiac Canada
2HM	Hyundai Canada
2M	Mercury
3F	Ford Motor Company Mexico
3G	General Motors Mexico
3H	Honda Mexico
3VW	Volkswagen Mexico
4F	Mazda USA
4M	Mercury
4S	Subaru of Indiana Automotive
4US	BMW USA
5L	Lincoln
5YJ	Tesla USA
6F	Ford Motor Company Australia
6H	General Motors-Holden
6MM	Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Australia
6T1	Toyota Australia
9BW	Volkswagen Brazil

A 9 is given for the third digit if it is a small manufacturer. In Germany the manufacturer code is then W09. The manufacturer is coded in digits 12-14.