In one of our previous articles, we decoded a vehicle’s VIN, so you already know that the first 3 digits compose the World Manufacturer Identifier. In the US, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) assigns the WMI to countries and manufacturers.
Country or Region codes
Usually, the first letter is the country of manufacture, the second one is the manufacturer, and the third one is the vehicle type or manufacturing division.
The tables below show what country and region codes are hidden in your vehicle’s VIN search.
Africa codes
| AA-AH | South Africa | CA-CE | Benin | DL-DR | Zambia |
| AJ-AN | Cote d’Ivoire | CF-CK | Madagascar | EA-EE | Ethiopia |
| BA-BE | Angola | CL-CR | Tunisia | EF-EK | Mozambique |
| BF-BK | Kenya | DA-DE | Egypt | FA-FE | Ghana |
| BL-BR | Tanzania | DF-DK | Morocco | FF-FK | Nigeria |
As you can see from the table above, AA-AH is a code that stands for South Africa. It covers the range AA, AB, AC, AD, AE, AF, AG, and AH, meaning all vehicles with those codes were manufactured in South Africa.
Asia codes
| J | Japan | MF-MK | Indonesia | PF-PK | Singapore |
| KA-KE | Sri Lanka | ML-MR | Thailand | PL-PR | Malaysia |
| KF-KK | Israel | MS-M0 | Myanmar | RA-RE | United Arab Emirates |
| KL-KR | Korea (South) | NA-NE | Iran | RF-RK | Taiwan |
| KS-K0 | Kazakhstan | NF-NK | Pakistan | RL-RR | Vietnam |
| L | China (Mainland) | NL-NR | Turkey | RS-R0 | Saudi Arabia |
| MA-ME | India | PA-PE | Philippines |
Europe codes
| SA-SM | United Kingdom | VA-VE | Austria | X3-X0 | Russia |
| SN-ST | Germany (formerly East Germany) | VF-VR | France | YA-YE | Belgium |
| SU-SZ | Poland | VS-VW | Spain | YF-YK | Finland |
| S1-S4 | Latvia | VX-V2 | Serbia | YL-YR | Malta |
| TA-TH | Switzerland | V3-V5 | Croatia | YS-YW | Sweden |
| TJ-TP | Czech Republic | V6-V0 | Estonia | YX-Y2 | Norway |
| TR-TV | Hungary | W | Germany (formerly West Germany) | Y3-Y5 | Belarus |
| TW-T1 | Portugal | XA-XE | Bulgaria | Y6-Y0 | Ukraine |
| UH-UM | Denmark | XF-XK | Greece | ZA-ZR | Italy |
| UN-UT | Ireland | XL-XR | Netherlands | ZX-Z2 | Slovenia |
| UU-UZ | Romania | XS-XW | Russia (formerly USSR) | Z3-Z5 | Lithuania |
| U5-U7 | Slovakia | XX-X2 | Luxembourg |
North America, South America, and Oceania codes
| South America | North America | ||||
| 8A-8E | Argentina | 9F-9K | Colombia | 1, 4, or 5 | United States |
| 8F-8K | Chile | 9L-9R | Paraguay | 2 | Canada |
| 8L-8R | Ecuador | 9S-9W | Uruguay | 3A-3W | Mexico |
| 8S-8W | Peru | 9X-92 | Trinidad & Tobago | 3X-37 | Costa Rica |
| 8X-82 | Venezuela | 93–99 | Brazil | 38-39 | Cayman Islands |
| 9A-9E | Brazil |
| Oceania | 6 | Australia | 7 | New Zealand |
Unassigned codes
Some codes remain unassigned at the moment and can be claimed by new vehicle manufacturers. They are as follows:
Africa – FL-F0, GA-G0, HA-H0
Asia – NS-N0, PS-P0
Europe – S5-S0, T2-T0, UA-UG, U1-U4, U8-U0, ZS-ZW, Z6-Z0
North America – 30
South America – 90
Decode your vehicle’s VIN
The easiest way to know details about a vehicle that you’re going to purchase is to order a VIN check. With ClearVin you can be sure of your purchase and avoid the risks of buying a vehicle with an ambiguous history by using a car VIN lookup or free license plate check. It is also possible to view a vehicle sample report to see what information is included, and stay safe with ClearVin!
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