VIN Numbers Starting With K — Built in South Korea
A VIN starting with K in the KL–KR range was built in South Korea. KMH and KM8 are Hyundai, KNA and KND are Kia — but plenty of Hyundais and Kias sold in the US were built in Alabama and Georgia and start with 5 or 3 instead.
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A VIN beginning with KL through KR identifies a vehicle manufactured in South Korea. The most common Korean WMIs are KMH and KM8 (Hyundai), KNA, KND and KNM (Kia), and KL1 and KL5 (GM Korea, sold as Chevrolet). Note that K also covers Sri Lanka (KA–KE), Israel (KF–KK) and Kazakhstan (KS–K0), so the second character matters. Hyundai and Kia also build in the United States and Mexico, and those vehicles do not carry K codes.
Reading a Korean-built VIN
The first character places the factory. Everything that matters about the individual vehicle comes after it.
- 1Read two characters, not oneK is shared. KL–KR is South Korea; KA–KE is Sri Lanka, KF–KK is Israel and KS–K0 is Kazakhstan.
- 2Match the WMIKMH and KM8 are Hyundai, KNA and KND are Kia, KL-prefixed codes are GM Korea selling as Chevrolet.
- 3Remember the US plantsHyundai builds in Montgomery, Alabama and Kia in West Point, Georgia. Those cars start with 5 and carry US WMIs.
- 4Check the vehicle, not the countryWarranty status, recall exposure and title brands are recorded against the individual VIN.
What the code tells you
Hyundai's car/SUV split
KMH covers passenger cars and KM8 covers SUVs, so the WMI narrows the body class before you decode anything else.
The GM Korea lineage
KL1, KL4, KL5 and KL7 belong to GM Korea, the former Daewoo — which is why a Chevrolet can carry a Korean VIN.
Renault Korea
KNM is the Busan plant, historically Renault Samsung. It shares platforms with Nissan and Renault models sold elsewhere.
Where it was actually sold
A Korean-built car imported to the US is titled here like any other, and its US history is what a report reads.
VINs beginning with K: manufacturer codes
The first three characters of the VIN are the World Manufacturer Identifier. These are the ones you are most likely to meet on a Korean-built vehicle — a representative list, not a complete one, since a large manufacturer holds many codes across plants and vehicle classes.
| WMI | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| KMH | Hyundai | Passenger cars, Ulsan |
| KM8 | Hyundai | SUVs |
| KMF | Hyundai | Commercial vans |
| KNA | Kia | Passenger cars |
| KND | Kia | SUVs |
| KNM | Renault Korea | Busan |
| KNE | Kia | Passenger cars |
| KL1 | GM Korea | Chevrolet passenger cars |
| KL4 | GM Korea | Chevrolet SUVs |
| KL5 | GM Korea | Formerly Daewoo |
| KL7 | GM Korea | Chevrolet |
| KPA | SsangYong / KG Mobility | — |
| KPT | SsangYong / KG Mobility | — |
| KPH | Mitsubishi | Korean assembly |
Decode the other sixteen characters
The country code is one character. Enter the full VIN to get the make, model, year and plant — plus title brands, theft records, accidents and open recalls.
Why K is one of the codes you cannot read on the first character alone
Most people meet exactly one kind of K-prefix VIN — a Hyundai or a Kia — and reasonably conclude that K means Korea. ISO 3779 is more granular than that. The letter is subdivided: KA through KE is Sri Lanka, KF through KK is Israel, KL through KR is South Korea, and KS through K0 is Kazakhstan.
In North America the distinction is close to academic, because Sri Lankan, Israeli and Kazakh production does not reach the US market in any volume. But it is exactly the kind of shortcut that makes a cheap decoder wrong, and it is worth knowing that the rule is a range, not a letter.
Within the Korean range, the assignments are tidy. Hyundai holds KMH for passenger cars and KM8 for SUVs. Kia holds KNA and KND on the same split. GM Korea, the former Daewoo, holds the KL family and builds Chevrolet-badged cars sold across the Americas and Europe.
Korean brands, American plants — and what that does to your VIN
Hyundai has assembled vehicles in Montgomery, Alabama since 2005, and Kia in West Point, Georgia since 2009. Both have added US capacity since, and Kia also builds at Pesquería in Mexico under the WMI 3KP. Those vehicles do not carry K codes.
So the same nameplate can appear with three different country prefixes depending on which plant filled the order. A Kia Sportage might start with KND, 5XY or 3KP, and none of those is a better or worse car — they are three factories building the same programme.
Where this genuinely matters is when you are trying to interpret a decoder that only reported a country. If you want to know the plant, read character eleven; if you want to know what has happened to the car since it left that plant, read the title history.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a VIN starting with KMH mean?
KMH is Hyundai's World Manufacturer Identifier for passenger cars built in South Korea. The KL–KR range within the letter K is allotted to South Korea under ISO 3779.
Do all Hyundais and Kias have VINs starting with K?
No. Hyundai builds in Alabama and Kia in Georgia, and those vehicles carry US WMIs beginning with 5. Kia also builds in Mexico under 3KP.
Does K always mean South Korea?
No — the letter is split. KA–KE is Sri Lanka, KF–KK is Israel, KL–KR is South Korea and KS–K0 is Kazakhstan. You need the second character to be sure.
Why does a Chevrolet have a Korean VIN?
GM Korea, formerly Daewoo, holds the KL-family WMIs and builds Chevrolet-badged vehicles that are exported worldwide.
Other country codes & related lookups
Read another country's manufacturer codes, or go straight to a full decode.
Get your full vehicle history report
Where a vehicle was built is fixed at the factory. Where it has been titled, whether it was ever written off, and what the odometer actually read are recorded against the same VIN.
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