Chassis number: everything you need to know

The chassis number is the Spanish equivalent of the acronym VIN, which in English stands for Vehicle Identification Number. As you probably already know, this number not only identifies your specific vehicle, but can also be used to identify spare parts or specific components for your car.

Regardless of the model, this number is made up of a series of numbers and letters that provide manufacturers with a great deal of information. Would you like to know the meaning of your car’s chassis number?

All manufacturers form their chassis numbers or VINs with 17 digits. These numbers and letters are part of a universal code that provides the necessary information for each unit built. For example, in addition to what we have already mentioned, the chassis number is also used to identify units affected by a recall.

This number usually appears not only on the technical data sheet, but also in the bottom right-hand corner of the vehicle’s windscreen, although on brands such as BMW it can be found on the right-hand side when the bonnet is opened.

What does the vehicle’s chassis number mean?

The VIN or chassis number has 17 characters, as we have mentioned, and each of them has a meaning. The first three, which on BMW are usually WBA or WBS if it is an M model, provide information about the manufacturer. This is called the WMI, and this acronym stands for World Manufacturer Identifier. As well as identifying the manufacturer, it can also tell us where the model was manufactured.

The second digit or letter refers to the manufacturer itself. For example, Audi uses A, BMW uses B, Ford uses F, Mercedes-Benz uses D, Nissan uses N, Volkswagen uses V and Toyota uses T. The third letter, meanwhile, indicates the type of model in question, whether it is a saloon, an SUV, a sports car, and so on.

The following four numbers indicate the engine type, the body style, the model or the gearbox type. It is also worth noting that, depending on the manufacturer, these figures will provide more or less information. The digit in ninth position is a check character; it can be I, O, Q or Ñ. The next one gives us the year of manufacture, indicated by a letter from A to Z and numbers from 1 to 9. We can then identify the plant where the model was assembled. This is followed by the manufacturer’s production numbers. In this way, we arrive at the last six digits.

This group has a special name, VIS, and gives us specific details about the model in question. It is important to point out that in Europe, the regulation of chassis numbers is carried out under the ISO 3779 standard. According to this standard, the numbers would be structured as follows:

• WMI: the first three digits, which correspond to manufacturing data.
• VDS: the vehicle’s type-approval construction details.
• VIS: information about the car’s manufacture (last 6 digits).