VIN Decoder · Volkswagen
Volkswagen VIN Decoder: WVW, WVG, 3VW and 1VW
A European Volkswagen VIN looks half empty: WVWZZZ, a two-character type code such as 1K or CD, and on older cars a plain Z where a check digit would sit. A Jetta from Puebla (3VW) or an Atlas from Chattanooga (1V2) fills every position instead. Paste the 17 characters and the decoder tells you which of the two rule books the car was built under.
- WMI set: 8 codes, WVW to 1V2
- Plant codes: Wolfsburg · Emden · Zwickau · Puebla · Chattanooga and 5 more
- Last verified: 8 October 2026
Decode a Volkswagen VIN
Scope: Volkswagen WVW / WVG / WV1 / WV2 / 3VW / 3VV / 1VW / 1V20 / 17
No Volkswagen VIN contains I, O or Q. If you read an O in WVWZZZ…, it is a zero or you are looking at a Z.
What a Volkswagen VIN tells you
Positions 1–3 name the maker and the country the code was issued for: WVW for Volkswagen cars, WVG for its SUVs, WV1 and WV2 for the commercial-vehicle range. On a European VW the next three characters are simply ZZZ. They carry nothing; Volkswagen only fills them with engine and restraint codes on cars built for North America.
Positions 7 and 8 are where a VW VIN gets specific. They hold the type code that VW mechanics and parts catalogues use: 1K for the fifth-generation Golf, AU for the Golf VII, CD for the Golf VIII, E1 for the ID.3. Know the code and you know the generation, even when the seller's advert says otherwise.
Position 10 is the model year and position 11 the plant: W for Wolfsburg, E for Emden, P for Zwickau, M for Puebla, C for Chattanooga. Buying a Passat or a T-Roc? Read position 11 rather than the WMI, because both can carry a German WMI and still come from a plant outside Germany.
Volkswagen WMI codes
| WMI | Meaning |
|---|---|
| WVW | Volkswagen passenger cars, WMI issued in Germany (Golf, Passat, Polo, ID.3 …) |
| WVG | Volkswagen SUVs and MPVs, WMI issued in Germany (Tiguan, T-Roc …) |
| WV1 | Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles: vans and pick-ups (cargo versions) |
| WV2 | Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles: passenger vans, minibuses and campers |
| 3VW | Volkswagen de México, Puebla: passenger cars (Jetta, earlier Beetle and Golf) |
| 3VV | Volkswagen de México, Puebla: SUVs (Tiguan, Taos) |
| 1VW | Volkswagen Group of America: passenger cars from Chattanooga (Passat 2012–2022 model years) |
| 1V2 | Volkswagen Group of America: SUVs from Chattanooga (Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport, ID.4) |
We matched every code with NHTSA's vPIC manufacturer register and with a second, independent VIN reference; WV1 and WV2 appear because Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles shares the WMI series with the car division.
German-market, German-built for export, and North-American Volkswagens
Volkswagen does not run one VIN format. A Golf built in Wolfsburg for Hamburg, the same Golf built in Wolfsburg for Houston, and a Jetta built in Puebla each fill positions 4 to 9 differently. Which one do you have? The first card that matches your VIN decides how the check digit should be read.
European-market VW (WVW, WVG, WV1, WV2)
- Positions 4–6 read ZZZ; only the type code at 7–8 (1K, AU, CD, E1 …) describes the car.
- Up to about the 2023 model year position 9 is a Z, not a check digit. European VWs from the 2024 model year (position 10 = R, S, T) that we checked carry a computed check digit instead.
- Plants W Wolfsburg, E Emden, P Zwickau, H Hannover, K Osnabrück, 8 Dresden; D Bratislava and V Palmela build under the same German WMIs.
German-built for the US and Canada (WVW, WVG)
- Same WMI as a European car, but positions 4–6 carry real codes: a US Golf GTI reads WVWGA7CD…, a German one WVWZZZCD….
- Position 9 is a mandatory ISO 3779 check digit; if it fails, suspect a typing error or a VIN that has been altered.
- Plant letter is still German, usually W: the Golf VIII for Europe and North America comes only from Wolfsburg.
Built in North America (3VW, 3VV, 1VW, 1V2)
- 3VW and 3VV come from Puebla (plant M): Jetta (type BU), Taos (B2), Tiguan.
- 1VW and 1V2 come from Chattanooga (plant C): Passat until December 2021, Atlas since 2017, ID.4 since July 2022.
- Every position is meaningful and position 9 always computes; a letter at position 7 places the car in the 2010-or-later cycle.
German WMI, foreign plant
A Passat B9 starts with WVW but is assembled in Bratislava, so position 11 reads D. A first-generation T-Roc starts with WVG and comes from Palmela in Portugal, position 11 V. The decoder flags this so you trust the plant letter over the WMI.
Green: the check digit computes. Red: it fails on a VIN that must carry one: anything starting with 1 to 5, or a WVW/WVG car built for North America. Amber: it fails on a European VW where position 9 was never a check digit, which is normal for a WVWZZZ…Z car.
Volkswagen model year — position 10
Position 10 repeats every 30 years, so S can mean 1995 or 2025. On a North-American VW the cycle resolves itself: since 2010 Volkswagen's US model codes at positions 7–8 start with a letter (AU, BU, CA, CD), while the older ones started with a digit (1K, 9M, 3C). A European WVWZZZ VIN gives no such hint, so the decoder shows both candidates. For a German car, hold them against the first-registration date in field B on the Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I; a UK V5C shows the date of first registration too. Keep in mind that a VW model year can begin before the calendar year does.
| 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
What are the Volkswagen WMI codes?
WVW for Volkswagen cars and WVG for SUVs with a German-issued code, WV1 and WV2 for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, 3VW and 3VV for cars and SUVs from Puebla in Mexico, and 1VW and 1V2 for cars and SUVs from Chattanooga, Tennessee. The WMI names the code's country, not necessarily the plant: check position 11 for that.
Where is the VIN on a Volkswagen?
Check the driver's-side corner at the bottom of the windscreen and the sticker on the driver's door pillar. VW also prints the VIN on the vehicle data sticker in the spare-wheel well or under the boot floor, with a copy in the service book. Both the UK V5C and the German Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I list it as field E.
Why does my European VW VIN fail the check-digit test?
Because on most European Volkswagens position 9 is a Z, not a check digit. ISO 3779 only makes the check digit mandatory for North America, and VW did not compute one for its home market for decades. European VWs from the 2024 model year that we checked do carry a valid digit, so a recent WVWZZZ car that fails deserves a second look at the characters you typed.
What do positions 7 and 8 mean on a Volkswagen?
They are VW's type code. 1K is the Golf V, AU the Golf VII, CD the Golf VIII, E1 the ID.3. On North-American cars you will also see BU for the Jetta and CA for the Atlas. If a seller lists a Golf VIII and positions 7–8 read AU, you are looking at a Golf VII.
Can a VW VIN tell me the engine and the factory options?
Not on a European car: positions 4–6 are ZZZ and hold no engine code. The equipment is on the vehicle data sticker in the boot, and on its copy in the service book, as three-character PR codes. A Volkswagen dealer can also look the build up from the VIN.