# Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) The vehicle-identification number (abbreviation VIN is the internationally standardized 17-digit number for the clear identification of a vehicle. It comprises of a manufacturer identifier, e.g., W0L for Opel, WDB for Daimler-Benz, WVW for Volkswagen, WF0 for Ford or VF7 for Citroën, a manufacturer-specific code and a consecutive number that usually depends on the year of manufacture. Some manufacturers have been assigned several manufacturer identifiers. Before 1981, there were no generally binding standards for this number. That is why vehicle manufacturers used individually assigned chassis numbers at that time. Today, the number has 17 characters. However, the letters I, O and Q are blocked because of the high risk of confusing them with the numbers 0 and 1. The vehicle identification number replaces the former chassis number that was individually assigned by the vehicle manufacturer. Example of a VIN for an Opel: W0L000051T2123456.
| Structure of the VIN
> There are two different standards for the VIN. Manufacturers in the EC countries use the ISO 3779 standard.
> Digit | ISO 3779 | North America |
> 1 | World Manufacturer Identifier | World Manufacturer Identifier |
> 2 |
> 3 |
> 4 | Series and engine type | Series, engine type and accessories |
> 5 |
> 6 |
> 7 |
> 8 |
> 9 | Check digit |
> 10 | Consecutive number | Model year |
> 11 | Manufacturing plant |
> 12 | Consecutive number |
> 13 |
> 14 |
> 15 |
> 16 |
> 17 |
| European VIN from 2003
> Digit | Meaning |
> 1-3 | World Manufacturer Identifier |
> 4-6 | Series: 450 = city coupé /convertible, 452 = roadster / roadster coupé, 454 = four-door |
> 7 | Body shape: 3 = coupé, 4 = convertible / roadster, 0 = four-door |
> 8+9 | Engine 00 = 30 kw Diesel, 01 = 70 kw Diesel, 30 = 37 kw petrol, 31 = 70 kw petrol, 32 = 45 kw petrol, 33 = 35 kw petrol, 34 = 60 kw petrol, 35 = 40 kw petrol |
> 10 | Steering: 1 = left-hand steering, 2 = right-hand steering |
> 11 | Manufacturing plant: J,K,L indicate several buildings in Smartville / Hambach (F) |
> 12-17 | Consecutive ascending number |
| American VIN from 2003
> The US VIN is used in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. A mixture of US and European standards is used in Israel.
> Digit | Meaning |
> 1-3 | World Manufacturer Identifier |
> 4 | Series: A = 450 (city coupé), B = 452 (roadster / roadster coupé) |
> 5 | Body shape: J = 3 (coupé), K = 4 (convertible / roadster) |
> 6-7 | Engine: 00 = 30 kW Diesel, 30 = 37 kW petrol, 32 = 45 kW petrol, 33 = 35 kW petrol, 34 = 60 kW petrol, 35 = 40 kW petrol |
> 8 | Retaining systems: E = without side airbag, F = with side airbag |
> 9 | Check digit |
> 10 | Model year code: The year of manufacture is defined by the ISO 3779-1983 standard. The characters 123456789ABCDEFGHJKLMNPRSTVWXY always encode 30 years starting from 1971. A 3 therefore means 1973 or 2009. The characters I, O, Q, U have been omitted because of the risk of confusion. |
> 11 | Manufacturing plant: J,K,L indicate several buildings in Smartville / Hambach (F) |
> 12-17 | Consecutive ascending number |
| World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI)
The first three digits of the VIN clearly identify the manufacturer according to the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI). A manufacturer with an annual production rate of less than 500 vehicles uses the number 9 in the third place and the 12th to 14th digit of the VIN as the second part of the identification number. Some manufacturers use the 3rd digit of the VIN to encode the vehicle type (e.g., bus or truck), a company branch or both in combination. Example: The manufacturer General Motors, manufacturer identifier 1G, uses the code 1G1 for the Chevrolet brand (car), 1G2 for the Pontiac brand (car) and 1GC for Chevrolet again, however, this code is only assigned to trucks.
| WMI regions
> The first letter of the World Manufacturer Identifier indicates the region of the manufacturer. In practice, every individual identifier is assigned to the manufacturer country. Manufacturers with cross-border manufacturing facilities are marked accordingly.
> WMI | Region | Remark |
> A-H | Africa | AA-AH = South Africa |
> J-R | Asia | J = Japan KL-KR = South Korea L = China MA-ME = India MF-MK = Indonesia ML-MR = Thailand PA-PE = Philippines PL-PR = Malaysia |
> S-Z | Europe | SA-SM = United Kingdom SN-ST, W = Germany SU-SZ = Poland TA-TH = Switzerland TJ-TP = Czech Republic TR-TV = Hungary VA-VE = Austria VF-VR = France VS-VW = Spain VX-V2 = Yugoslavia XS-XW = CIS 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, 93-99 = Brazil 9F-9J = Columbia |
| List of common WMI
> The Society of Automotive Engineers assigns the WMI to countries and manufacturers. The list below shows a small selection of commonly used World Manufacturer Identifiers.
> YES | Isuzu |
> JF | Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru) |
> JH | Honda |
> JMB | Mitsubishi |
> JMZ | Mazda |
> JN | Nissan |
> JS | Suzuki |
> JT | Toyota |
> KL | Daewoo |
> KMH | Hyundai |
> KN | Kia |
> SAL | Land Rover |
> SAJ | Jaguar |
> SCC | Lotus Cars |
> TRU | Audi |
> VF1 | Renault |
> VF3 | Peugeot |
> VF7 | Citroën |
> VSS | Seat |
> WAU | Audi |
> WBA | BMW |
> WBS | BMW M GmbH |
> WDB | Mercedes-Benz |
> WKK | Karl Kässbohrer plant |
> WME | Smart |
> WMW | MINI |
> WP0 | Porsche |
> WVG | Volkswagen (Auto5000) |
> WVW | Volkswagen |
> WV1 | Volkswagen commercial vehicles |
> WV2 | Volkswagen |
> YK1 | Saab |
> YS3 | Saab |
> YV1 | Volvo Cars |
> ZDF | Ferrari Dino |
> ZFA | Fiat |
> ZFF | Ferrari |
> 1F | Ford Motor Company |
> 1G | General Motors |
> 1GC | Chevrolet |
> 1GM | Pontiac |
> 1H | Honda USA |
> 1L | Lincoln |
> 1M | Mercury |
> 1N | Nissan USA |
> 1VW | Volkswagen USA |
> 1YV | Mazda USA |
> 2F | Ford Motor Company Canada |
> 2M | Mercury |
> 2G | General Motors Canada |
> 2G1 | Chevrolet Canada |
> 2G1 | Pontiac Canada |
> 2HM | Hyundai Canada |
> 3F | Ford Motor Company Mexico |
> 3G | General Motors Mexico |
> 3VW | Volkswagen Mexico |
> 9BW | Volkswagen Brazil |
> 4F | Mazda USA |
> 4M | Mercury |
> 4S | Subaru-Isuzu Automotive |
> 4US | BMW USA |
> 5L | Lincoln |
> 6F | Ford Motor Company Australia |
> 6H | General Motors-Holden |
> 6MM | Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Australia |
> 6T1 | Toyota Australia |
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