VIN Decoder · Land Rover
Land Rover VIN Decoder: SAL Codes and Plant Letters
Every Land Rover and Range Rover we checked starts with SAL, from a 1985 Defender to a 2025 Range Rover. The interesting part is the fourth character. On older European cars it is an L, and position 9 is not a working check digit. From the 2013 Range Rover onwards it names the model line (G, W, R, C, E …), and on the UK cars we checked the check digit computes. Position 11 then tells you whether the car came from Solihull, Halewood or Nitra in Slovakia.
- Land Rover WMI: SAL (Jaguar's SAJ and SAD not included)
- Plant codes: A Solihull · H Halewood · 2 Nitra
- Last verified: 8 October 2026
Decode a Land Rover or Range Rover VIN
Scope: Land Rover SAL — Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Velar, Evoque, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Defender0 / 17
No I, O or Q in a Land Rover VIN. If a Defender's VIN seems to have an O, it is the digit 0.
What a Land Rover VIN tells you
SAL is the WMI of Jaguar Land Rover Limited for multipurpose vehicles, and Land Rover puts it on every model, including the Range Rover family. Jaguar's own cars use SAJ, and its SUVs use SAD. An F-Pace from the same Solihull plant as a Range Rover Velar therefore starts SAD, not SAL.
Positions 4 to 8 describe the car. On current VINs, position 4 is the model line, as filed with the US authorities: G for the Range Rover of 2013–2022, K for the one after it, W and 1 for the two Range Rover Sport generations since 2014, R for Discovery, C for Discovery Sport, Y for Velar, V and Z for Evoque, E for the Defender built since 2020. Positions 5 to 8 carry trim, body, engine and restraint system.
Positions 10 and 11 are the model year and the plant. A UK Discovery Sport registered in 2020 reads L and H there, meaning model year 2020, built in Halewood. Is a Range Rover Sport from 2011 on your shortlist? Its VIN starts SALLS, and the check digit will not compute. That is normal for that format.
Land Rover WMI code
| WMI | Meaning |
|---|---|
| SAL | Jaguar Land Rover Limited, multipurpose vehicles: every Land Rover and Range Rover, including Defenders and Discoveries built in Nitra, Slovakia |
NHTSA's vPIC register files SAL under Jaguar Land Rover Limited and in every Land Rover VIN filing the company made with NHTSA for model years 2017 to 2027. Plant codes A, H and 2 come from those filings and were checked against UK-registered Land Rovers and Wikipedia's plant histories.
Two Land Rover VIN formats, three plants
Land Rover's VINs are not split by market as much as by era. Cars of the older European format begin SALL, while every model line launched from 2013 carries a model letter in position 4 and computes the check digit in the UK as well as in the US.
SALL… — check digit not computed
- Discovery 3 and 4, the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport before 2013 and the original Defender begin SALL plus a model letter: SALLA for Discovery, SALLS for Range Rover Sport, SALLM for Range Rover, SALLD for Defender.
- None of the nine UK-registered SALL VINs we checked carried a valid ISO 3779 check digit, the last of them a 2016 Discovery 4.
- Position 10 still gives the year on these cars from the 2000s on: 6 for 2006, B for 2011, G for 2016.
SALG, SALW, SALR, SALC — check digit computed
- Range Rover from 2013 (G), Range Rover Sport from 2014 (W), Discovery from 2017 (R) and Discovery Sport (C) passed the check digit on all 15 UK-registered cars we tested.
- A failed check digit on one of these is shown red: expect a mistyped character or a number that has been changed.
- Defender, Velar, Evoque and the newest Range Rover and Range Rover Sport were not in our UK sample. On their European VINs a mismatch stays amber.
Same SAL, check digit required
- US Land Rovers use the same model letters as European ones: a 2025 Defender 110 for the US starts SALE, a 2025 Range Rover SALK.
- Position 9 is mandatory under 49 CFR Part 565, and JLR's filings mark it as the check digit.
- Position 10 gives the model year: S is 2025, T 2026, V 2027.
Land Rover pitfall: SAL is not a British-build stamp
A Defender built from 2020 onwards comes from Nitra in Slovakia and still starts SAL. So does every Discovery from model year 2020. Position 11 tells them apart: 2 means Nitra, A Solihull. A UK Discovery from 2018 or 2019 can carry A, because production moved during model year 2019. If a seller calls a recent Defender British-built, position 11 settles it.
Green means the check digit computes. Red appears where Land Rover is known to compute it: current-format Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Discovery and Discovery Sport VINs. Amber appears on a mismatch elsewhere, which on a SALL-format VIN is the expected result, not a warning sign.
Land Rover model year — position 10
On UK and European cars Land Rover fills position 10 with the model year too, not only on US ones. On the UK-registered cars we checked, the code matched the registration year: 6 on a 2006 Range Rover Sport, L on a 2020 Discovery Sport. The 30-year cycle leaves two candidates, and the model line usually decides: an S on a SALE Defender can only be 2025, not 1995. On a UK car, compare it with the date of first registration on the V5C. Bought the car in Germany? Then the Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I shows that date under B.
| Code | Model year | Code | Model year |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2010 | M | 2021 |
| B | 2011 | N | 2022 |
| C | 2012 | P | 2023 |
| D | 2013 | R | 2024 |
| E | 2014 | S | 2025 |
| F | 2015 | T | 2026 |
| G | 2016 | V | 2027 |
| H | 2017 | W | 2028 |
| J | 2018 | X | 2029 |
| K | 2019 | Y | 2030 |
| L | 2020 |
Frequently asked questions
Does a Land Rover VIN starting with SAL mean the car was built in the UK?
Not since Land Rover opened Nitra. SAL names Jaguar Land Rover Limited, a UK company, and it stays on Defenders and Discoveries built in Slovakia. Position 11 names the plant: A is Solihull (Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Velar), H is Halewood (Evoque, Discovery Sport) and 2 is Nitra (Defender, Discovery).
Why does my older Land Rover fail the check digit?
Because its VIN uses the older European format. Discovery 3 and 4, the pre-2013 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport and the classic Defender begin SALL, and on every UK-registered example we checked position 9 did not compute. No European regulation asks for a check digit, so a SALL mismatch says nothing about tampering. A current-format VIN such as SALG, SALW, SALR or SALC is different: there the check digit should pass.
Where is the VIN on a Land Rover?
Stand outside the car and read the plate behind the bottom of the windscreen. A UK V5C prints it in the vehicle section; an EU registration certificate prints it under code E, which in Germany means the Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I. Buying a used Range Rover Sport? Read the windscreen plate yourself and compare it with the V5C before money changes hands.
What does position 4 mean in a Land Rover VIN?
On current VINs it is the model line. JLR's filings with NHTSA list G for the Range Rover built 2013–2022, K for the current Range Rover, W and 1 for the Range Rover Sport, R for Discovery, C for Discovery Sport, Y for Velar, V and Z for the two Evoque generations and E for the Defender from 2020. On an older SALL VIN, the letter after L plays that role: SALLD is a Defender, SALLA a Discovery.
What can't a Land Rover VIN tell you?
Paint, interior, wheels and option packs are not encoded. Neither is the build date. The VIN fixes model line, body, engine, restraint system, model year, plant and serial number. If you are importing a Defender from Germany and want the exact specification, the original order or build paperwork is what you need from the seller; the 17 characters will not show it.