Editing Vehicle identification number (section)

===World manufacturer identifier===
The first three characters uniquely identify the manufacturer of the vehicle using the world manufacturer identifier or WMI code. A manufacturer who builds fewer than 1,000 vehicles per year uses a 9 as the third digit, and the 12th, 13th and 14th position of the VIN for a second part of the identification. Some manufacturers use the third character as a code for a vehicle category (e.g., bus or truck), a division within a manufacturer, or both. For example, within {{mono|1G}} (assigned to [[General Motors]] in the United States), {{mono|1G1}} represents [[Chevrolet]] passenger cars; {{mono|1G2}}, [[Pontiac (automobile)|Pontiac]] passenger cars; and {{mono|1GC}}, Chevrolet [[truck]]s.

The [[Society of Automotive Engineers]] (SAE) in the US assigns WMIs to countries and manufacturers.<ref name=ISO3780>{{cite web |url=https://www.iso.org/standard/45844.html |title=ISO 3780:2009 Road vehicles – World manufacturer identifier (WMI) code |publisher=[[ISO]] |date=2009-10-05 |access-date=2010-09-27}}</ref>

The first character of the WMI is typically the region in which the manufacturer is located. In practice, each is assigned to a country of manufacture, although in Europe the country where the continental headquarters is located can assign the WMI to all vehicles produced in that region. (Example: When Adam Opel AG was still with General Motors, Opel/Vauxhall cars designed in that era used to carry a "German" WMI (e.g. W0L, W0V), because Adam Opel AG was based in Rüsselsheim, Germany, no matter if vehicles were produced in Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom or Poland. When Opel changed hands and became part of PSA, this changed for newer models, which obtained "French" WMIs.)

Company mergers and acquisitions can lead to seemingly confusing allocations. For instance, Stellantis, the result of the merger of PSA (France) and FCA (Italy), is technically a Dutch corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. VIN numbers of European-made vehicles or their brands, though, still carry WMIs from France and Italy. Additionally, it may not be immediately obvious what particular local subsidiary of the corporation manages type approvals of vehicles and application for WMIs, since this does not necessarily depend on the perceived country association of the respective brand. For example, in at least one case, a model that was newly released years after the merger by an Italian brand (ex-FCA) carries VIN numbers with new French WMIs (the 2024 Lancia Ypsilon – incidentally manufactured in Spain). It is to be expected that assignment policies of this kind, often for unpublished reasons, can be found at other manufacturers as well.

In the notation below, assume that letters precede numbers and that zero is the last number. For example, 8X–82 denotes the range 8X, 8Y, 8Z, 81, 82, excluding 80.<ref name="ISO3780" />

====Country or region codes====
{{As of|2021|April}}, ISO specifies the following codes per country :<ref>{{cite web |url=https://standards.iso.org/iso/3780/ed-4/en/Current%20WMI%20World%20Codes%20chart%204.13.21.pdf |title=WMI Country Code Distribution |publisher=ISO |date=2025-04-13 |access-date=2025-04-11}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!'''A–C = [[Africa]]'''
!'''H–R = [[Asia]]'''
!'''E, S–Z = [[Europe]]'''
!'''1–5, 7 = [[North America]]'''
!'''6 = [[Oceania]]'''
!'''8–9 = [[South America]]'''
|- valign="top"
|
'''AA-AH''' South Africa<br />
'''AJ-AK''' Côte d'Ivoire<br />
'''AL-AM''' Lesotho <br/>
'''AN-AP''' Botswana <br/>
'''AR-AS''' Namibia <br/>
'''AT-AU''' Madagascar <br/>
'''AV-AW''' Mauritius <br/>
'''AX-AY''' Tunisia <br/>
'''AZ-A1''' Cyprus <br/>
'''A2-A3''' Zimbabwe <br/>
'''A4-A5''' Mozambique <br/>
'''BA-BB''' Angola<br />
'''BC'''    Ethiopia<br/>
'''BF-BG''' Kenya<br />
'''BH'''    Rwanda<br/>
'''BL'''    Nigeria <br/>
'''BR'''    Algeria <br/>
'''BT'''    Swaziland<br/>
'''BU'''    Uganda<br/>
'''B3-B4''' Libya <br/>
'''CA-CB''' Egypt<br />
'''CF-CG''' Morocco<br />
'''CL-CM''' Zambia<br/>
|
'''H'''     China<br />
'''J'''     Japan<br />
'''KF-KH''' Israel<br />
'''KL-KR''' South Korea<br />
'''KS-KT''' Jordan<br />
'''K1-K3''' South Korea<br />
'''K5''' Kyrgistan<br />
'''L'''     China<br />
'''MA-ME''' India<br />
'''MF-MK''' Indonesia<br />
'''ML-MR''' Thailand<br />
'''MS''' Myanmar<br />
'''MU''' Mongolia<br />
'''MX''' Kazakhstan<br />
'''MY-M0''' India<br />
'''NA-NE''' Iran<br />
'''NF-NG''' Pakistan<br />
'''NJ''' Iraq<br />
'''NL-NR''' Turkey<br />
'''NS-NT''' Uzbekistan<br />
'''NV''' Azerbaijan<br />
'''NX''' Tajikistan<br />
'''NY''' Armenia<br />
'''N1-N5''' Iran<br />
'''N7-N8''' Turkey<br />
'''PA-PC''' Philippines<br />
'''PF-PG''' Singapore<br />
'''PL-PR''' Malaysia<br />
'''PS-PT''' Bangladesh<br />
'''PV''' Cambodia<br />
'''P5-P0''' India<br />
'''RA-RB''' United Arab Emirates<br />
'''RF-RK''' Taiwan<br />
'''RL-RN''' Vietnam<br />
'''RL-RN''' Vietnam<br />
'''RP''' Laos<br />
'''RS-RT''' Saudi Arabia<br />
'''R1-R7''' Hong Kong
|
'''E''' Russia<br/>
'''SA-SM''' United Kingdom<br />
'''SN-ST''' Germany <small>(former East Germany)</small><br />
'''SU-SZ''' Poland<br />
'''S1-S2''' Latvia<br />
'''S3''' Georgia<br />
'''S4''' Iceland<br />
'''TA-TH''' Switzerland<br />
'''TJ-TP''' Czech Republic<br />
'''TR-TV''' Hungary<br />
'''TW-T2''' Portugal<br />
'''T3-T5''' Serbia<br/>
'''T6'''    Andorra<br/>
'''T7-T8''' Netherlands<br/>
'''UA-UC''' Spain<br/>
'''UH-UM''' Denmark<br />
'''UN-UR''' Ireland<br />
'''UU-UX''' Romania<br />
'''U1-U2''' North Macedonia<br />
'''U5-U7''' Slovakia<br />
'''U8-U0''' Bosnia and Herzegovina<br />
'''VA-VE''' Austria<br />
'''VF-VR''' France<br />
'''VS-VW''' Spain<br />
'''VX-V2''' France<br />
'''V3-V5''' Croatia<br />
'''V6-V8''' Estonia<br />
'''W''' Germany <small>(former West Germany)</small><br />
'''XA-XC''' Bulgaria<br />
'''XD-XE''' Russia<br/>
'''XF-XH''' Greece<br />
'''XJ-XK''' Russia<br/>
'''XL-XR''' Netherlands<br />
'''XS-XW''' Russia <small>(former USSR)</small><br />
'''XX-XY''' Luxembourg<br />
'''XZ-X0''' Russia<br />
'''YA-YE''' Belgium<br />
'''YF-YK''' Finland<br />
'''YN''' Malta<br />
'''YS-YW''' Sweden<br />
'''YX-Y2''' Norway<br />
'''Y3-Y5''' Belarus<br />
'''Y6-Y8''' Ukraine<br />
'''ZA-ZU''' Italy<br />
'''ZX-ZZ''' Slovenia<br />
'''Z1'''    San Marino<br/>
'''Z3-Z5''' Lithuania<br />
'''Z6-Z0''' Russia
|
'''1''' United States<br />
'''2''' Canada<br />
'''3A-3X''' Mexico<br />
'''34''' Nicaragua<br/>
'''35''' Dominican Republic<br/>
'''36''' Honduras<br/>
'''37''' Panama<br/>
'''38-39''' Puerto Rico<br/>
'''4''' United States<br />
'''5 ''' United States<br />
'''7''' United States<br />
|
'''6''' Australia<br />
'''6Y-61''' New Zealand
|
'''8A-8E''' Argentina<br />
'''8F-8G''' Chile<br />
'''8L-8N''' Ecuador<br />
'''8S-8W''' Peru<br />
'''8X-8Z''' Venezuela<br />
'''82''' Bolivia<br />
'''82''' Costa Rica<br />
'''9A-9E''' Brazil<br />
'''9F-9G''' Colombia<br />
'''9S-9V''' Uruguay<br />
'''91–90''' Brazil<br />
|}