WMI · WBY

WBY — BMW

A VIN that begins with WBY was built by BMW AG in Germany. Decode a full WBY VIN below to get the exact make, model, engine and origin.

What WBY means

WBY is the World Manufacturer Identifier — the first three characters of every VIN, which identify who built the vehicle and where.

WMI
WBY
Manufacturer
BMW AG
Country of manufacture
Germany
Region
Europe
Vehicle type
Passenger Car

BMW i / electric models (i3, i-series).

How the WBY prefix is built

Under ISO 3780, the three WMI characters break down like this:

Character 1 — region

“W” places the manufacturer in Europe.

Characters 1–2 — country

“WB” identifies the assigning country: Germany.

Character 3 — manufacturer / division

“Y” narrows it to BMW AG.

Where BMW WBY vehicles are built

Vehicles with a WBY VIN are associated with BMW AG, Germany. Note that a single carmaker uses different WMIs for different plants, so the WBY prefix points to this specific origin — not simply to the BMW brand.

Real decoded WBY VINs

Live examples already decoded on VinSpecify:

More about BMW VINs

See how BMW structures its VINs, every common WMI prefix and where to find the number.