What Information Can the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Provide?

In this video, you will learn what information the chassis number of a car or commercial vehicle can provide. Firstly, you can find out in which country and year it was produced, as well as the unit number corresponding to its series.

The chassis number is like a person's identity card; it is unique and non-transferable. The VIN is a specific alphanumeric sequence unique to each vehicle produced worldwide, consisting of 17 characters (known as digits), defined by ISO standard 3779 from 1983. There are many places where the VIN can be stamped.

Here is what information it contains: the first three characters identify the manufacturer internationally. The next six characters describe the vehicle, and the last eight identify the vehicle itself.

In the section for the manufacturer, the first letter indicates where the vehicle was manufactured, the second indicates the company that manufactures the vehicle, and the third indicates the division of the company that produced the car. Characters four to eight correspond to the identifying characteristics of the vehicle model, such as chassis type, body style, engine, and transmission, according to the manufacturer's specifications.

The ninth character is a standard defined by ISO 3779. The tenth position indicates the model's year of manufacture, according to a table illustrated in the video, which repeats every 30 years.

The eleventh number indicates the plant number where the vehicle was assembled. From the twelfth to the seventeenth, it is the progressive production unit number of the vehicle within that production line.