Interpretation ID: NCC-240821-001 Letter_WMI for Foreign Built Vehicles-Ford-565_Final

September 11, 2024

Ms. Emily Frascaroli 

Ford Motor Company 

330 Town Center Drive 

Dearborn, MI 48126-2738 

Dear Ms. Frascaroli:

This responds to your August 9, 2022 letter asking about the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) requirements regarding the characters in vehicle identification numbers (VINs) that identify the manufacturer. These characters are commonly referred to as the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI). You ask whether Ford Motor Company (Ford) may use one of its U.S.-assigned WMIs in the VINs of vehicles Ford manufacturers outside of the United States for importation into and sale in the United States. The answer is yes. 

For the benefit of the public and to clarify NHTSA’s position on WMI requirements more generally, this letter also rescinds a previous interpretation on a similar issue. In a November 3, 2000 letter to Mr. Karl-Heinz Ziwica of BMW of North America, NHTSA addressed the use of a German-issued WMI in the VIN of a vehicle assembled in the United States. Because we believe the two issues are related, this letter also includes a discussion of that letter and NHTSA’s decision to rescind it. 

In responding to this request, NHTSA notes that the contents of this letter do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This letter is only intended to provide clarity regarding existing requirements under the law at the time of signature.

Facts Presented 

In your letter, you explain that Ford was evaluating plans to manufacture vehicles in another country (“Country X”) that will be sold in the United States. Your letter states that this manufacturing would be done through a 50/50 joint venture. The vehicles, you state, would be classified as multipurpose passenger vehicles (MPVs) under 49 CFR § 571.3. As you explain, Country X has assigned Ford a WMI for passenger cars and a WMI for light trucks. However, because Country X’s regulations do not recognize the classification of a vehicle as an MPV, you state that it will not assign Ford a WMI for this type of vehicle. Instead, the WMI-issuing authority in Country X has suggested that Ford use the WMI it issued to Ford for “passenger car” types.1 You explain that this solution could complicate VIN assignment in the future if Ford later decides to also manufacture passenger cars in Country X for sale in the United States. Specifically, because NHTSA requires a WMI to uniquely identify both manufacturer and vehicle type, Ford cannot use a single WMI for both MPVs and passenger cars. See 49 CFR§ 565.15(a). To avoid this possible complication, you ask whether Ford may use a U.S.-assigned WMI that identifies Ford as the manufacturer and MPV as the vehicle type for the MPVs manufactured in Country X for the U.S. market. You state that this approach would not obscure that the vehicle was manufactured in Country X because the manufacturing location in Country X will be noted in position eleven (11) of the VIN. 

Background and Relevant Provisions 

The VIN is the cornerstone of NHTSA’s safety defect and standard noncompliance recall program.2 NHTSA’s VIN requirements must ensure effective identification of vehicles and vehicle manufacturers. To this end, NHTSA established a 17-character VIN system, whose requirements are found at 49 CFR Part 565. This system requires manufacturers to assign VINs that meet certain formatting requirements and have certain information encoded into them.
NHTSA also requires manufacturers to submit deciphering information that allows the agency to decode the information in the VINs.3 

NHTSA’s VIN regulation requires that “[e]ach vehicle manufactured in one stage shall have a VIN that is assigned by the manufacturer.”4 For large-volume manufacturers, the first three characters of a VIN serve as the manufacturer identifier, which is commonly referred to as the WMI.5 The manufacturer identifier uniquely identifies the manufacturer and the type of motor vehicle.6 These characters are assigned in accordance with section 565.16(a) of the VIN regulation, which states that NHTSA “has contracted with SAE International to coordinate the assignment of manufacturer identifiers to manufacturers in the United States.” Section 565.16(a), however, does not address the assignment of WMIs to manufacturers located outside of the United States. Instead, those WMIs are typically issued by WMI-issuing entities in the country in which the manufacturer is located.

The WMI system depends on international cooperation, which is facilitated by SAE International and the use of ISO 3780, an international standard that sets forth general specifications for WMIs and explains how the issuance of WMIs will be coordinated at the international level. This international cooperation is necessary to ensure that two countries do not issue the same WMI. In addition to serving as NHTSA’s contractor for the purpose of issuing WMIs to U.S. manufacturers, SAE International also coordinates WMIs on an international level, by

1 According to your letter, the vehicles at issue would be considered “passenger cars” in Country X.
2 Final rule amending NHTSA’s VIN requirements, 44 FR 17489, 17490 (Mar. 22, 1979).
3 See 49 CFR § 565.16(c).
4 49 CFR § 565.13(a).
5 If the manufacturer is a low-volume manufacturer, the manufacturer identifier is six characters. 49 CFR § 565.15(a).
6 See 49 CFR § 565.15(a).

coordinating the assignment of ranges of WMIs to countries, as well as by keeping a repository of assigned WMIs. Ranges of WMIs are assigned based on the first and second characters of a WMI, with the first character generally identifying a particular geographic area, and the second character identifying a particular country within the geographic area (e.g., a WMI with the first character of S through Z indicates Europe, and WMIs beginning with ZA to ZU are assigned to Italy). The WMI-issuing authorities in each country then assign WMIs to individual manufacturers. 

Discussion

Your situation presents a new issue for NHTSA to consider. To respond to your request, we will address two issues: (1) whether Ford is the manufacturer of the vehicles at issue for the purposes of being identified by the WMI in the VIN of the vehicles at issue; and (2) whether NHTSA requires the WMI to indicate the country of manufacture, either by being issued in the country of manufacture or by otherwise identifying the country of manufacture. 

Manufacturer Identified by the WMI 

We will first consider whether Ford may be identified as the manufacturer of the vehicles produced by the 50/50 joint venture in Country X, or whether the company that actually builds the vehicles must be identified as the manufacturer in the WMI. Although your letter did not ask this question, it is a threshold question for your inquiry. One of the key requirements for the WMI, found at section 565.15(a) of the VIN regulation, is that it must uniquely identify the manufacturer. Therefore, we will first address whether one of Ford’s WMIs may be used in the VINs of the subject vehicles. While Ford may not be the assembler of the vehicles,7 NHTSA believes that the 50/50 joint venture may still allow Ford to “control” production of the vehicles sufficiently to be designated as the manufacturer for WMI purposes.8 

For purposes of assigning VINs, NHTSA interprets the requirement for the WMI to identify the manufacturer to mean that the WMI must identify the manufacturer that certifies the vehicle under 49 CFR Part 567, NHTSA’s certification regulation. The VIN’s primary purpose is to facilitate the identification of vehicles and the manufacturers responsible for those vehicles. Therefore, it would be inconsistent to allow different entities to be identified on the certification 

7 As Ford explained, the vehicles will be manufactured by the 50/50 joint venture.
8 Additionally, Ford could not be considered the “manufacturer” for WMI purposes based on its being the vehicle’s importer because 49 CFR § 565.14(a) states that importers must use the VIN “assigned by the original manufacturer of the motor vehicle.” Accordingly, even though 49 CFR § 565.12(b) defines a manufacturer as including a person “importing motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment for resale,” consistent with the Safety Act’s definition of “manufacturer” at 49 U.S.C. § 30102(a)(6), NHTSA does not consider importers to be manufacturers for purposes of VIN assignment. Rather, NHTSA only considers entities that are “manufacturing or assembling motor vehicles,” id. § 30102(a)(6)(A), to be manufacturers for purposes of the WMI.

label and in the VIN.9 This reading is consistent with ISO 3780,10 and with a past NHTSA interpretation in which Volkswagen asked which WMI should be used when vehicle assembly is carried out by one company on behalf of another.11 In that interpretation, NHTSA stated that the WMI of the company under whose authority the assembly is carried out and which maintains responsibility for the vehicle’s compliance with safety standards should be used.12 NHTSA continues to believe this is the most appropriate reading of the regulation. 

The next question is which manufacturer in a joint venture would certify the vehicle, which would also determine which manufacturer’s WMI should be used in the VIN. Typically, under 49 CFR § 567, the name of the actual assembler must appear on the certification label. This requirement reflects that the purpose of the manufacturer’s designation in the certification regulations is to identify the entity that has “primary technical responsibility for conformity of the design and quality control of the assembly.”13 

However, NHTSA also explicitly permits other entities to assume responsibility for motor vehicles’ compliance and to make certifications to that effect. Accordingly, if a vehicle is assembled by a corporation that is controlled by another corporation that assumes responsibility for conformity with the standards, the name of that controlling corporation may be used on the certification label.14 

In a 1981 letter to Paccar Inc. (Paccar), NHTSA considered how this certification standard would apply where an entity owned a partial percent interest in a motor vehicle assembler.15 We believe the analysis in that letter is relevant to determining whether Ford is in “control” of the assembler of the vehicles at issue. In the Paccar letter, NHTSA concluded that Paccar could be identified as the manufacturer on the certification label for vehicles assembled by Kenworth Mexicana, a Mexican affiliate. NHTSA observed that even though Paccar owned only a 49

9 We note that for vehicles built in more than one stage, the VIN must be assigned by the incomplete vehicle manufacturer and the incomplete vehicle manufacturer, any intermediate vehicle manufacturers, and the final stage manufacturer each have certification responsibilities.
10 In its 2008 final rule amending its VIN regulations, NHTSA stated that when issuing identifiers to U.S. manufacturers, SAE also ensures that the identifiers comply with the specifications in ISO Standard 3780. See 73 FR 23367, 23369 (Apr. 30, 2008). In specifying requirements for WMIs, ISO 3780:2009 references the definition of “manufacturer” found in ISO Standard 3779. Section 3.5 of ISO Standard 3779:2009 in turn defines manufacturer as the “person, firm, or corporation that issues the certificate of conformity or that demonstrates compliance and assumes product liability for a vehicle ready for operation, independent of the location of the assembly plant.”
11 See Letter to Volkswagen of America Inc. (November 20, 1978), available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/interpretations/aiam2885.
12 While this 1978 interpretation has been superseded in part, NHTSA has not reconsidered its conclusion that the WMI should identify the certifying manufacturer.
13 See Letter to Kawasaki Motors Corporation (August 15, 1969), available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/interpretations/nht69-228.
14 See 49 CFR § 567.4(g)(1)(i). As NHTSA explained in its 1969 final rule on Part 567, this exception was adopted in recognition of the fact that, “particularly in some foreign countries, assembly of a vehicle may be performed by a subsidiary corporation controlled by a parent that is the generally known ‘nameplate company.’” The agency determined that in such a situation, “no important purpose is served by requiring the name of a lesser-known subsidiary corporation on the label.” 34 FR 11360 (Jul. 9, 1969).
15 The letter is available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/interpretations/nht81-326.

percent interest in Kenworth Mexicana, it was responsible for the design of the vehicles produced in Mexico and exercised control over all matters relating to their compliance with safety standards. In this circumstance, the letter concluded that Paccar’s name could appear on the certification label and noted that allowing Paccar to be identified as the manufacturer was consistent with the reasons the agency had adopted the controlling corporation exception to the requirement that the vehicle assembler’s name must appear on the certification label.16 

The reasoning in the Paccar letter applies to joint ventures as well. We believe that the ownership interest and the entity’s involvement in the vehicles’ design, production, and compliance—not the particular corporate structure—are the most relevant factors for determining “control.” Accordingly, we conclude that a partner owning 50 percent of a joint venture that is also responsible for a vehicle’s design and exercises control over all matters relating to its compliance with safety standards may be identified as the manufacturer for purposes of Part 567. Therefore, if Ford meets these requirements, Ford may be identified as the manufacturer on the certification labels of the subject vehicles even though Ford is not the actual assembler of the vehicles. Moreover, if Ford is the manufacturer on the certification labels, then Ford may also be the manufacturer for purposes of the VIN’s WMI. 

Thus, based on the facts presented, and assuming that Ford would be permitted to certify the vehicles pursuant to Part 567, NHTSA would conclude that the vehicles produced through Ford’s joint venture in Country X may have VINs that are assigned by Ford and contain a WMI assigned to Ford. 

Country of Manufacture 

The second part of the analysis considers whether the WMI must indicate the country of manufacture either by (1) being issued by the country in which the vehicle was manufactured or (2) otherwise identifying the country of manufacture. We find that the answer is no: Part 565 does not require this.

NHTSA’s VIN regulation is silent as to whether the WMI must indicate the country of manufacture. Since NHTSA regulations do not prohibit the use of a U.S.-assigned WMI in VINs of vehicles manufactured in Country X for sale in the United States, such practice is permissible under the circumstances described in this letter.17

16 Relatedly, other NHTSA interpretations have held that vehicles manufactured under contract may not be certified by the entity that assumes responsibility for the compliance of those vehicles unless that entity has an ownership interest in the assembler. See Letter to Howard A. Silverman (November 11, 2000), available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/interpretations/gm3crs; Letter to Mr. Larry Smith (January 15, 2002), available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/interpretations/londontaxi2.
17 We also note that in the 2008 final rule that amended Part 565, we stated that, to comply with ISO 3780, the first three digits of a VIN “must also indicate the country in which the vehicle was manufactured.” 73 FR 23367, 23369 (Apr. 30, 2008). However, ISO 3780 has always specified that WMIs are assigned by the WMI-issuing entity in the country in which the manufacturer is headquartered, not that WMIs must indicate the country in which the vehicle was manufactured. Similarly, the BMW interpretation letter discussed below, which we are now rescinding, indicated in a footnote that German-issued WMIs did not conform to SAE’s WMI format for U.S.-manufactured

Based on the information you provided, and assuming that Ford would be permitted to certify the vehicles and in fact does so, NHTSA’s regulations would not prohibit Ford from using one of its U.S.-assigned WMIs for vehicles produced in Country X through Ford’s 50/50 joint venture.
However, as explained above, if Ford did not certify the vehicles, NHTSA would not consider it appropriate for a Ford WMI to be used. 

Further, while NHTSA still believes that knowing the vehicle’s location of manufacture is important for NHTSA’s enforcement purposes, the WMI alone is not necessary to serve this function. NHTSA requires manufacturers to code information about plant of manufacture into position 11 of the VIN, thus providing more detailed information about where the vehicle was produced.18 

BMW Interpretation 

As mentioned above, your letter presented a new issue to consider. However, in considering that issue, we identified prior guidance that now requires updating. In an interpretation dated November 3, 2000, that we issued to Mr. Karl-Heinz Ziwica of BMW of North America, we addressed the use of a German-issued WMI on a motor vehicle assembled in the United States. BMW had been using German-issued WMIs on vehicles manufactured at its plant in Greer, South Carolina. We concluded that the VINs of vehicles produced at the Greer plant must bear WMIs assigned or approved by NHTSA or its contractor. We now rescind that interpretation to ensure consistent guidance. 

The BMW letter relied on an earlier version of what is now section 565.16(a) of the VIN regulation. The previous version was found at 49 CFR § 565.7(a) and was similar though not identical to the current rule. The BMW letter interpreted the provision then-section 565.7(a) as requiring the vehicles at issue, which had been manufactured in the United States, to have VINs with WMIs that had been assigned or approved by NHTSA. However, Part 565 was subsequently updated in 2008. The updated, recodified version of what is now section 565.16(a) clarified that the provision simply provides an explanation of a process and does not itself create any substantive requirements. The rule does not provide that NHTSA must assign or approve WMIs; rather, it simply observes that NHTSA contracts with SAE to assign WMIs. 

If we were to consider BMW’s request today, we would find that there is no requirement in Part 565 that prohibits the use of non-U.S. WMIs on vehicles produced in the United States. As discussed above, the WMI must uniquely identify the certifying manufacturer and the vehicle type. Kraftfahrt Bundesamt is the WMI-issuing authority for Germany and fulfills a similar role 

vehicles because the WMIs in the subject VINs did not fall within the range that would indicate that the WMI had been assigned by the United States. See Letter to Mr. Karl-Heinz Ziwica (November 3, 2000), available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/interpretations/21915drn. With this interpretation and the rescission of the BMW letter, NHTSA’s requirements for WMIs will be more consistent with ISO 3780. Nonetheless, we also note that NHTSA’s requirements are still not in complete alignment with ISO 3780 because NHTSA does not require WMIs to be issued in the country in which the manufacturer is headquartered.
18 49 CFR § 565.15(d)(2).

to the one SAE International fulfills under its contract with NHTSA to assign WMIs to U.S. manufacturers. Because NHTSA does not require vehicles manufactured in the United States to have VINs that include a U.S.-assigned WMI, NHTSA now concludes that it would be permissible for BMW to use German-issued WMIs on vehicles produced in the United States by a BMW subsidiary that are certified by the BMW parent company headquartered in Germany. 

Conclusion 

As discussed above, NHTSA’s regulations do not prohibit the use of a U.S.-issued WMI in the VINs of vehicles manufactured outside of the United States for importation into and sale in the United States. Accordingly, assuming Ford may be identified as the manufacturer on the certification labels of the subject vehicles manufactured in Country X, we believe it would be permissible for Ford’s U.S.-issued WMI for MPVs to be incorporated into the VINs affixed to those vehicles. Moreover, with the rescission of the BMW interpretation and the issuance of this interpretation, we now conclude that vehicles manufactured in the United States that are certified by controlling companies may have VINs that incorporate the controlling company’s WMI, regardless of whether the controlling company has a U.S.-issued WMI. 

NHTSA would like to note, however, that there are still restrictions on who can be identified as the manufacturer in the WMI. As explained above, the WMI must identify the certifying manufacturer. Additionally, out of concern for the dwindling supply of WMIs, NHTSA will direct its contractor not to issue new U.S. WMIs specifically for vehicles produced outside of the United States, even when the manufacturer is a U.S-headquartered company.19 That is, manufacturers that are headquartered in the United States may use existing WMIs on vehicles they produce in other countries, but they will not be able to obtain new WMIs for that purpose.20 Because Ford is headquartered in the U.S. and has been issued U.S. WMIs, NHTSA regulation would not prohibit Ford from using its U.S.-issued WMIs on vehicles it manufactures in Country X for sale in the United States. 

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Callie Roach of my staff at this address or at (202) 366-2992.
 

Sincerely,
ADAM RAVIV
Adam Raviv Chief Counsel

Dated: 9/11/24
Ref: Part 565

19 This decision to deviate from ISO 3780, which specifies that WMIs are issued by the WMI-issuing authority in the country in which it is headquartered, ensures that U.S. WMIs are not issued to entities lacking a substantial presence in the United States.
20 When requesting a new U.S. WMI for a particular vehicle type, manufacturers will need to provide information substantiating that they will be producing that vehicle type in the United States.