Makes
VIN codes by manufacturer
The first three characters of a VIN identify who built the vehicle. 536 World Manufacturer Identifiers across 20 manufacturers, all sourced from NHTSA's vPIC catalogue.
34 WMI codes
Toyota
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Toyota vehicles.
45 WMI codes
Honda
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Honda vehicles.
54 WMI codes
Ford
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Ford vehicles.
110 WMI codes
Chevrolet
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Chevrolet vehicles.
18 WMI codes
Nissan
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Nissan vehicles.
55 WMI codes
Jeep
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Jeep vehicles.
15 WMI codes
Hyundai
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Hyundai vehicles.
9 WMI codes
Kia
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Kia vehicles.
6 WMI codes
Subaru
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Subaru vehicles.
11 WMI codes
Mazda
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Mazda vehicles.
11 WMI codes
Volkswagen
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Volkswagen vehicles.
18 WMI codes
BMW
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for BMW vehicles.
37 WMI codes
Mercedes-Benz
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
5 WMI codes
Audi
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Audi vehicles.
34 WMI codes
Lexus
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Lexus vehicles.
4 WMI codes
Tesla
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Tesla vehicles.
43 WMI codes
Volvo
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Volvo vehicles.
2 WMI codes
Porsche
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Porsche vehicles.
22 WMI codes
Mitsubishi
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Mitsubishi vehicles.
3 WMI codes
Land Rover
WMI codes, VIN structure and recall lookup for Land Rover vehicles.
How to use these pages
Each card above leads to one manufacturer's page. On it you will find every World Manufacturer Identifier that NHTSA's vPIC database returns for that make, a short list of common models, notable safety recalls since 2018, notes on reading the rest of that maker's VINs, and where the VIN is usually found on its vehicles.
Why one make has many codes
A World Manufacturer Identifier is the first three characters of a VIN. Under 49 CFR 565.15 it identifies the manufacturer and the type of vehicle, so a large manufacturer holds a separate code for each type it builds, and companies in its group, such as Honda of Canada with 2HG, hold codes of their own. In vPIC, Honda holds 1HG for passenger cars and 5FN for multipurpose passenger vehicles, and Ford holds 1FA for cars and 1FT for trucks. That is why Chevrolet's page lists 110 codes while Porsche's lists two.
What the first character tells you
The first character broadly indicates the region where the identifier was issued, and the first two characters usually narrow it to a country. It is a strong hint about origin, not proof of it: vPIC lists several US-registered codes that begin with 7, and an identifier says where a company's code was issued, which is not always the plant that built the vehicle. WMI codes explained covers the exceptions with real examples.
When your code is not listed
If the first three characters of your VIN do not appear on a make's page, check that you copied them correctly, since I, O and Q never appear in a VIN. Then run the full VIN through the decoder, which asks vPIC directly. Codes registered to smaller companies or to makes we have not built a page for yet can still decode there. If the decoder returns nothing, why a VIN won't decode lists the usual causes.
Checking recalls for one vehicle
The recalls on each make page are examples, not a complete list. To see open recalls for a specific vehicle, use its full VIN in the recall lookup, and read recall history by VIN for what that search does and doesn't show.