Interpretation ID: nht79-2.20

DATE: 09/11/79

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; F. Berndt; NHTSA

TO: BMW of North America, Inc.

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT:

Mr. Karl-Heinz Ziwica Safety & Emission Control Engineering BMW of North America, Inc. Montvale, New Jersey 07645

Dear Mr. Ziwica:

This is in response to your letter of May 16, 1979, to Mr. Schwartz of my office, and in confirmation of your subsequent telephone conversation with him.

You wish to know whether Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 115, Vehicle identification number, permits BMW to use all the permissible numerical digits in the 11th position of the vehicle ientification number (VIN) for each of its two plants, as long as each VIN in its entirety assigned to each individual vehicle uniquely identifies its plant of manufacture. A system such as you suggest was proposed in the notice of proposed rulemaking for this standard issued on January 16, 1978 (Docket No. 1-22; Notice 4, 43 FR 2189). The response to this particular proposal was negative, and the rule issued on August 17, 1978, withdrew it. Consequently, the 11th character of the VIN must in and of itself be decipherable into the plant of manufacture (S4.5.3.2).

This is not to say, however, that BMW does not have considerable flexibility in its utilization of the 11th position. As pointed out in Notice 8 (44 FR 17489, March 22, 1979), BMW can submit more than one character to represent a single plant. While this restriction unfortunately may result in some change to the system which BMW is currently employing, the agency believes that a sophisticated allotment of sequential blocks will alleviate at least some of the problems which you foresee.

Sincerely,

Frank Berndt Chief Counsel

May 16, 1979

Mr. Frederic Schwartz, Jr. Office of the Chief Counsel U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 400 Seventh Street S.W. Washington DC 20590

Dear Mr. Schwartz

This is in reference to previous conversations we had concerning the manufacturer's possibility to submit more than one character to represent a single plant of manufacture under Part 571 of Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 115 as published in FR Vol. 44 No. 57 on March 22, 1979.

We wish to know whether the above mentioned regulation allows BMW to use all the permissible numerical digits in the 11th position for each of its two plants, as long as each VIN in its entirety assigned to each individual vehicle uniquely identifies its plant of manufacture.

Your confirmation in writing of this understanding would be appreciated.

Very truly yours

Karl-Heinz Ziwica, Manager Safety & Emission Control Engineering

KHZ/JPS