World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI) Database — Complete Guide

Every vehicle manufactured for sale has a 17-character Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). The first three characters — known as the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI) — tell you who made the vehicle and where it was built.

This guide provides a complete WMI reference for developers, importers, and automotive professionals, with particular focus on Chinese manufacturers — a rapidly growing segment that most other resources don't cover.

What Is a WMI Code?

The WMI is defined by the ISO 3779 standard and managed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). It consists of three characters:

• Character 1 — Country or region of manufacture (e.g., "1" = USA, "W" = Germany, "L" = China, "J" = Japan, "K" = South Korea)
• Character 2 — Manufacturer (e.g., "G" = General Motors, "B" = BMW)
• Character 3 — Vehicle type or division

For example, the VIN WBA12345678901234 starts with WBA, which identifies the vehicle as a BMW manufactured in Germany.

Chinese WMI Codes

All Chinese WMI codes start with the letter L, which is the ISO country code for China. With Chinese car exports growing rapidly, these codes are increasingly important for importers, dealers, and inspection services worldwide.

US WMI Codes

US-manufactured vehicles use WMI codes starting with 1, 4, or 5.

German WMI Codes

German manufacturers use WMI codes starting with W.

Japanese WMI Codes

Japanese manufacturers use WMI codes starting with J.

Korean WMI Codes

South Korean manufacturers use WMI codes starting with K.

How to Use WMI Codes in Your Application

If you're building an application that needs to identify vehicle manufacturers from VIN numbers, you can either maintain your own WMI lookup table or use an API that handles decoding automatically.

The GlobalVIN API decodes WMI codes automatically as part of every VIN lookup — you send a VIN, and the response includes the decoded manufacturer, model, year, and country of origin. This includes all Chinese WMI codes listed above, which most other VIN decoder APIs do not support.

// Decode a Chinese VIN using GlobalVIN API
const response = await fetch(
  'https://api.globalvin.co/v1/api/vin/basic',
  {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      vin: 'LVVDB11B4SD123456'  // Chery vehicle (WMI: LVV)
    })
  }
);
// Returns: brand_name: "Chery", model, year, specs...

Country Code Reference

The first character of a VIN identifies the country or region of manufacture:

This reference covers the most commonly encountered WMI codes. Thousands of additional codes exist for smaller manufacturers and regional variants. For programmatic WMI decoding across all manufacturers, use the GlobalVIN API which handles the complete WMI database automatically.