Country of origin.

John_01 · 03-29-2009, 11:47 PM

This might sound silly... but if the car is made in South Africa, wouldn't you see evidence on some of the labels on the components under the hood (car bonnet). Many years ago, a South African car would have labels in Afrikaans (derived from Dutch). Maybe post-apartheid their local language has been elliminated, or BMW may try to hide this sort of evidence.

ed-320d · 04-03-2009, 09:06 PM

Just look at the VIN.
The first two digits of your vehicle's 17-character Vehicle Identification Number code may be the only clue where it was assembled. Here are the VIN codes for vehicles on sale in Australia.

VA through VE - Austria

6A through 6W - Australia

YA through YE - Belgium

9A through 9E - Brazil

2A through 2O - Canada

LA through LO - China

YF through YK - Finland

VF through VR - France

SN through ST - Germany

WA through WO - Germany

TR through TV - Hungary

ZA through ZR - Italy

JA through JO - Japan

PL through PR - Malaysia

3A through 3W - Mexico

XL through XR - Netherlands

SU through SZ - Poland

U5 through U7 - Slovak Republic

AA through AH - South Africa

KL through KR - South Korea

VS through VW - Spain

YS through YW - Sweden

ML through MR - Thailand

NL through NR - Turkey

SA through SM - United Kingdom

1A through 1O - United States

4A through 4O - United States

5A through 5O - United States

John_01 · 06-03-2009, 08:46 AM

I found the attached image in another thread.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ht=LCI&page=11

If I understand this correctly, it says that BMW now have VIN codes starting with WBA regardless of where they are made. You need to look at Digit 11 of the VIN (plant code) to determine the country/factory where they are made.

Plant code A,B,D,E = Germany.
Plant code L = Spartanburg SC, USA.
Plant code N = Rosslyn, South Africa.

As far as I know it is only the 3 series sedans that are made in South Africa. I am not sure whether the "BMW Individual" sedans might be made or finished outside South Africa. Coupes, convertibles and wagons are made in Germany.

samchuang33 · 06-03-2009, 05:47 PM

nice find john

eff1dude · 06-04-2009, 10:12 PM

Doesn't seem to translate too well for my '08 320D. It does have a 17 digit VIN, but positions 8-11 in my VIN are 080N, which translates to: seat belts only & no airbags !!, check digit 8, a production year that doesn't exist (0 and O are not included) and manufacture in South Africa (which does make sense).

So does this mean that certain parts of the VIN are country specific ?

eml · 06-05-2009, 12:10 AM

^ yup. have never seen a VIN decoder that works everytime. the only sure parts, so far at least, are the first 7 characters.

Beejay · 06-06-2009, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eff1dude

Doesn't seem to translate too well for my '08 320D. It does have a 17 digit VIN, but positions 8-11 in my VIN are 080N, which translates to: seat belts only & no airbags !!, check digit 8, a production year that doesn't exist (0 and O are not included) and manufacture in South Africa

Yep, similar problem for my '09 320d (manufactured in April) - was shipped from Zeebruegge, and according to VIN built in Munich, but only seatbelts and a non-existent production year.

John_01 · 06-07-2009, 06:49 AM

Beejay, Its interesting to hear 320d sedan seems to be made in Germany. Thanks for posting.

BMW //MPOWER · 06-07-2009, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John_01

I found the attached image in another thread.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ht=LCI&page=11

If I understand this correctly, it says that BMW now have VIN codes starting with WBA regardless of where they are made. You need to look at Digit 11 of the VIN (plant code) to determine the country/factory where they are made.

Plant code A,B,D,E = Germany.
Plant code L = Spartanburg SC, USA.
Plant code N = Rosslyn, South Africa.

As far as I know it is only the 3 series sedans that are made in South Africa. I am not sure whether the "BMW Individual" sedans might be made or finished outside South Africa. Coupes, convertibles and wagons are made in Germany.

I'd file this under rubbish, doesn't make any sense...
checked it against mine and turns up BS, just stick to www.realoem.com if you want to check your vin info, as this method is simply wrong.

John_01 · 06-17-2009, 02:14 AM

Ok.. I just got the VIN for my 325i sedan. 11th digit is an N (South Africa).
Anyway, the car is currently waiting to be loaded at the Durban terminal.

I tried to use the VIN decoder at realoem.com, but I think the current version of the decoder only works for cars produced up to January 2009.

samchuang33 · 06-24-2009, 07:08 PM

My new car's vin is WBAPR96040N******

The info you found John seems correct for my vehicle except for model year.

PR96 is the model number
0 means that it has got seat belts
4 is just the check digit
0 however does not make sense as there is no model year identifier with number 0 or letter O
N so it is a South African made car... I was hoping it was Germany...too bad.

On the shipping details, it also said that it was loaded at Durban on 03/06/09 so i guess I can be very certain that it is made in South Africa.

So I guess it is true that all E90 sedans for Australian markets are all made in South Africa then.

John_01 · 06-24-2009, 07:28 PM

It seems that digits 8 and 10 probably aren't still used for the meanings that were indicated on the attachment in post #25. So far digit 11 correctly reveals the country of origin, at least for the small number of VINs that have been posted here. It also seems pretty obvious that German made cars are loaded in Zeebruegge, Belgium and South African made cars are loaded at Durban.

We can't say that every E90 sedan is made in South Africa, because Beejay's 320d sedan was loaded in Belgium and this agrees with digit 11 of the VIN number. Maybe it is because its a diesel, or maybe due to other factors.

If someone orders a car with "BMW Individual" paint and interior, I believe the final assembly will be done in Germany. I would guess that components and petrol engines may still come from South Africa, but it seems very hard for us to know.

bcoz · 08-05-2009, 11:25 AM

The BMW Oz website now has a twitter page...
http://twitter.com/bmwau

Anyway, on twitter they have a link to a BMW Group page Where we build our vehicles which lists the plants where all BMW models are currently built...
http://www.bmwgroup.com/bmwgroup_pro...tomobile.shtml

When you click on the 3 Series Sedan, it lists 4 plants including Rosslyn, South Africa where a lot of the Oz Sedans seems to originate from. The 3er Touring is built in Munich, with both the 3er Coupe & Convertible in Regensburg.

For info on all other models, check out the link above.

03-29-2009, 11:47 PM	#23
John_01 Colonel 232 Rep 2,643 Posts Drives: E90 325i, E82 135i Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Sydney, Australia iTrader: (0)	This might sound silly... but if the car is made in South Africa, wouldn't you see evidence on some of the labels on the components under the hood (car bonnet). Many years ago, a South African car would have labels in Afrikaans (derived from Dutch). Maybe post-apartheid their local language has been elliminated, or BMW may try to hide this sort of evidence.
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04-03-2009, 09:06 PM	#24
ed-320d Second Lieutenant 26 Rep 209 Posts Drives: Prado 150, CT200h Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane, Australia iTrader: (0) Garage List 2012 Lexus [0.00]	Just look at the VIN. The first two digits of your vehicle's 17-character Vehicle Identification Number code may be the only clue where it was assembled. Here are the VIN codes for vehicles on sale in Australia. VA through VE - Austria 6A through 6W - Australia YA through YE - Belgium 9A through 9E - Brazil 2A through 2O - Canada LA through LO - China YF through YK - Finland VF through VR - France SN through ST - Germany WA through WO - Germany TR through TV - Hungary ZA through ZR - Italy JA through JO - Japan PL through PR - Malaysia 3A through 3W - Mexico XL through XR - Netherlands SU through SZ - Poland U5 through U7 - Slovak Republic AA through AH - South Africa KL through KR - South Korea VS through VW - Spain YS through YW - Sweden ML through MR - Thailand NL through NR - Turkey SA through SM - United Kingdom 1A through 1O - United States 4A through 4O - United States 5A through 5O - United States
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06-03-2009, 08:46 AM	#25
John_01 Colonel 232 Rep 2,643 Posts Drives: E90 325i, E82 135i Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Sydney, Australia iTrader: (0)	I found the attached image in another thread. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ht=LCI&page=11 If I understand this correctly, it says that BMW now have VIN codes starting with WBA regardless of where they are made. You need to look at Digit 11 of the VIN (plant code) to determine the country/factory where they are made. Plant code A,B,D,E = Germany. Plant code L = Spartanburg SC, USA. Plant code N = Rosslyn, South Africa. As far as I know it is only the 3 series sedans that are made in South Africa. I am not sure whether the "BMW Individual" sedans might be made or finished outside South Africa. Coupes, convertibles and wagons are made in Germany. Attached Images Last edited by John_01; 06-03-2009 at 06:51 PM..
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06-03-2009, 05:47 PM	#26
samchuang33 Captain 38 Rep 780 Posts Drives: MY 16 440i & MY20 X7 30d Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane AUS iTrader: (0)	nice find john
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06-04-2009, 10:12 PM	#27
eff1dude Enlisted Member 7 Rep 44 Posts Drives: MY17 M3 Competition S/S Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Melbourne iTrader: (0)	Doesn't seem to translate too well for my '08 320D. It does have a 17 digit VIN, but positions 8-11 in my VIN are 080N, which translates to: seat belts only & no airbags !!, check digit 8, a production year that doesn't exist (0 and O are not included) and manufacture in South Africa (which does make sense). So does this mean that certain parts of the VIN are country specific ?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-05-2009, 12:10 AM	#28
eml Private First Class 28 Rep 163 Posts Drives: E46 M3 Coupe, F48 X1 xDr25i Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Sydney AU iTrader: (0)	^ yup. have never seen a VIN decoder that works everytime. the only sure parts, so far at least, are the first 7 characters.
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06-07-2009, 06:49 AM	#30
John_01 Colonel 232 Rep 2,643 Posts Drives: E90 325i, E82 135i Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Sydney, Australia iTrader: (0)	Beejay, Its interesting to hear 320d sedan seems to be made in Germany. Thanks for posting.
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06-17-2009, 02:14 AM	#32
John_01 Colonel 232 Rep 2,643 Posts Drives: E90 325i, E82 135i Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Sydney, Australia iTrader: (0)	Ok.. I just got the VIN for my 325i sedan. 11th digit is an N (South Africa). Anyway, the car is currently waiting to be loaded at the Durban terminal. I tried to use the VIN decoder at realoem.com, but I think the current version of the decoder only works for cars produced up to January 2009.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-24-2009, 07:08 PM	#33
samchuang33 Captain 38 Rep 780 Posts Drives: MY 16 440i & MY20 X7 30d Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane AUS iTrader: (0)	My new car's vin is WBAPR96040N****** The info you found John seems correct for my vehicle except for model year. PR96 is the model number 0 means that it has got seat belts 4 is just the check digit 0 however does not make sense as there is no model year identifier with number 0 or letter O N so it is a South African made car... I was hoping it was Germany...too bad. On the shipping details, it also said that it was loaded at Durban on 03/06/09 so i guess I can be very certain that it is made in South Africa. So I guess it is true that all E90 sedans for Australian markets are all made in South Africa then.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-24-2009, 07:28 PM	#34
John_01 Colonel 232 Rep 2,643 Posts Drives: E90 325i, E82 135i Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Sydney, Australia iTrader: (0)	It seems that digits 8 and 10 probably aren't still used for the meanings that were indicated on the attachment in post #25. So far digit 11 correctly reveals the country of origin, at least for the small number of VINs that have been posted here. It also seems pretty obvious that German made cars are loaded in Zeebruegge, Belgium and South African made cars are loaded at Durban. We can't say that every E90 sedan is made in South Africa, because Beejay's 320d sedan was loaded in Belgium and this agrees with digit 11 of the VIN number. Maybe it is because its a diesel, or maybe due to other factors. If someone orders a car with "BMW Individual" paint and interior, I believe the final assembly will be done in Germany. I would guess that components and petrol engines may still come from South Africa, but it seems very hard for us to know.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-05-2009, 11:25 AM	#35
bcoz spectator 81 Rep 507 Posts Drives: 330d Sedan Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia iTrader: (0)	The BMW Oz website now has a twitter page... http://twitter.com/bmwau Anyway, on twitter they have a link to a BMW Group page Where we build our vehicles which lists the plants where all BMW models are currently built... http://www.bmwgroup.com/bmwgroup_pro...tomobile.shtml When you click on the 3 Series Sedan, it lists 4 plants including Rosslyn, South Africa where a lot of the Oz Sedans seems to originate from. The 3er Touring is built in Munich, with both the 3er Coupe & Convertible in Regensburg. For info on all other models, check out the link above.
	Appreciate 0 Quote