WORLD MANUFACTURER IDENTIFIER (WMI): VINs were first used in the United States in 1954. There was no accepted standard for VIN numbers from 1954 to 1981; therefore different manufacturers utilized different formats.
In 1954, at the request of the US government, US car manufacturers and the Automobile Manufacturers Association collaborated on the creation of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), a new, standardized vehicle identification numbering system with a predetermined digit sequence and hidden chassis markings. American automobile manufacturers have used a vehicle identification number to describe and identify motor vehicles since 1954.
The United States' National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standardized the format in 1981. It mandated that all on-road vehicles sold have a 17-character vehicle identification number (VIN), which excludes the letters O, I and Q (to avoid confusion with numerals 0, 1, and 9).
WMIs are assigned to countries and manufacturers by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in the United States. For code assignment, each ISO national member body designates an organization that acts on behalf of the international agency responsible for the maintenance of WMI codes.
BIS, as India's National Standards Body and a member of the International Organization for Standardization, serves as the WMI coordinator in India, assigning WMI codes to vehicle manufacturers after they are assigned by the Society of Automotive Engineers Inc. in the United States, the international agency responsible for maintenance of WMI codes.
