11 prefixes
Volkswagen VIN decoder
Put a Volkswagen VIN in and get the full NHTSA specification plus any open recalls. Below, every manufacturer prefix a Volkswagen can start with.
Where a Volkswagen VIN starts
The first three characters are the World Manufacturer Identifier. Volkswagen vehicles carry 11 of them, spread across 3 countries of manufacture, because the same model can be built on more than one continent. The prefix tells you which plant lineage built the car before you decode anything else.
| Prefix | Manufacturer of record | Vehicle type | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1V1 | VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA, INC. | Truck | UNITED STATES (USA) |
| 1V2 | VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA, INC. | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) | UNITED STATES (USA) |
| 1VW | VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA, INC. | Passenger Car | UNITED STATES (USA) |
| 3VV | VOLKSWAGEN DE MEXICO SA DE CV | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) | MEXICO |
| 3VW | VOLKSWAGEN DE MEXICO SA DE CV | Passenger Car | MEXICO |
| 9BW | VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA, INC. | Passenger Car | MEXICO |
| WV1 | VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA, INC. | Truck | GERMANY |
| WV2 | VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA, INC. | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) | GERMANY |
| WV3 | VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA, INC. | Incomplete Vehicle | GERMANY |
| WVG | VOLKSWAGEN AG | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) | GERMANY |
| WVW | VOLKSWAGEN AG | Passenger Car | GERMANY |
What Volkswagen stamps them on
- Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV)4
- Passenger Car4
- Truck2
- Incomplete Vehicle1
Current Volkswagen models
Models NHTSA lists for the most recent complete model year.
- Atlas
- Atlas Cross Sport
- GTI
- Golf R
- ID. Buzz
- ID.4
- Jetta
- Jetta GLI
- Taos
- Tiguan
Other makes
Prefix table from NHTSA vPIC, built 2026-08-09. 888 prefixes across the site.