>> Does anybody know where I can get my hands on "a" database with
this information so i can fill up my project database? <<
In North America, a system is used that is far more stringent than the
ISO Standards but is "backward compatible." Here, the VIN is divided
into four sections:
The first three characters shall uniquely identify the manufacturer,
make and type of vehicle (with the same exception of manufacturers
that produce less than 500 vehicles). Effectively, this is the WMI.
There are indeed examples of manufacturers who have more than one WMI
that use the third character as a code for a vehicle category (for
instance bus or truck). Just as often however this is not the case;
The second section consists of five characters (VIN positions 4-8) and
identifies the attributes of the vehicle. For each type of vehicle
(passenger cars, MPV's, trucks, buses, trailers, motorcycles,
incomplete vehicles other than trailers), different information is
required. For cars, MPV's and light trucks it is required that the
first two characters of this section are alphabetic, the third and
fourth shall be numeric and the fifth alphanumeric. This section is
the VDS in ISO 3779 but there it comprises another position of the
VIN;
The third section consists of one character which is the check digit,
calculated over the other 16 characters of the VIN. This character can
be numeric or the letter X;
The fourth section consists of eight characters on positions 10-17 of
the VIN. The last five shall be numeric for cars, MPV's and light
trucks and the last four shall be numeric for all other vehicles. The
first character represents the vehicle model year, the second
character represents the plant of manufacture. The third through
eighth characters are a sequential production number (for
manufacturers producing more than 500 vehicles per year). For other
manufacturers, the sixth, seventh and eight positions represent the
sequential production number.
This section confirms to the VIS in ISO 3779.
A portion of the VIN is the WMI (World Manufacturer Identifier) Code.
SAE assigns this code to U.S. vehicle manufacturers. If you are a U.S.
manufacturer, please contact:
Cathy Douds
WMI Coordinator
SAE International
400 Commonwealth Drive
Warrendale, PA 15096-0001
724.772.8511
724.776.4026 - fax
do***@sae.org
Related Standards:
There are several standards available on VINs and WMIs:
SAE - J187 - Truck Vehicle Identification Numbers
SAE - J218 - Passenger Car Identification Terminology
SAE - J272 - Vehicle Identification Number Systems
SAE - J273 - Passenger Car Vehicle Identification Number System
SAE - J853 - Vehicle Identification Numbers
SAE - J1108 - Truck and Truck Tractor Vehicle Identification Number
Systems
SAE - J1044 - World Manufacturer Identifier
SAE - J1229 - Truck Identification Terminology
SAE - J1877 - Recommended Practice for Bar-Coded Vehicle
Identification Number Label
SAE J129 - Engine and Transmission Identification Numbers
ISO 3779 - Road vehicles - Vehicle identification number (VIN) Content
and structure
ISO 3780 - Road vehicles - World manufacturer identifier (WMI) code
