Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS)
Places 4 to 9 of the VIN contain the so-called vehicle descriptor code, which identifies the model of the car in question. Its format is up to the manufacturer. Škoda uses a format in which position 9 contains a “security code”, which makes it possible to verify that the VIN is real and not just a random invention. “In Škoda cars, this part of the VIN is used to determine the body type, engine, information about the car’s restraint systems and the type of car. In the case of Škoda Enyaq electric cars, the fifth position of the VIN can be used to find out the powertrain performance,” Vašina explains. The letter A stands for a car with a power output of 109 kW, the letter B for a vehicle with a power output of 132 kW, 150 kW is represented by the letter C, E is for cars with a power output of 195 kW and F is for the highest power output of 220 kW.
You can tell a lot from this descriptor: for example, a Škoda Octavia Combi with a 1.5 TSI engine has the VIN code TMBJR8NX*PYxxxx. The VDS starts with the letter J, which indicates an estate body, left-hand drive and single-axle drive. The letter R in the fifth position of the VIN code indicates the 1.5 TSI/110 kW engine. The following digit 8 symbolises 2 front airbags, 4 side airbags and 2 head airbags. The seventh and eighth positions of the VIN code with the letters NX denote the Octavia model series, and in place of the asterisk in the next position there will be the security code that is derived from the complete VIN code. The letter P means the model year 2023 and the letter Y the production plant in Mladá Boleslav. Electric cars do not have a special character: the fact that a car is a pure electric drive can be deduced from the combination of letters in the fifth, seventh and eighth position of the VIN code.
The Mladá Boleslav factory is represented by a Y in the eleventh position of the VIN.