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Origin

WMI codes registered in South Korea

South Korea ranks 11th by three-character WMIs registered there, with 20 of the 3,163 in NHTSA's catalog. Another 4 six-character codes from small manufacturers bring the total to 24. The most common vehicle type is passenger cars (40 percent), and 20 of the codes start with K. The longest model list belongs to KM4, with 123 models.

Holders with the most codes

  1. Hyundai Motor6
  2. Kia2
  3. Ulb2
  4. General Motors1
  5. Suzuki Motor of America1
  6. GM Daewoo Auto & Technology1
  7. Advanced Transportation Technology R&D1
  8. Hyosung Motors & Machinery1
  9. Kr Motors1
  10. Daelim Motor1

Codes by vehicle type

  1. Passenger cars8
  2. Multipurpose passenger vehicles5
  3. Low-speed vehicles3
  4. Motorcycles3
  5. Trucks1

Profiled codes, longest model lists first

CodeHolderMakesModel yearsModels
KM4Kr MotorsHyosung Motors & Machinery, KR Motors, Suzuki1985–2016123
KMHHyundai MotorGenesis, Hyundai1986–open28
KM8Hyundai MotorHyundai2001–open17
KNAKiaKia1993–open17
KNDKiaHyundai, Kia1995–open17

All 20 three-character codes

K 20

  • KL1General Motors
  • KL5Suzuki Motor of America
  • KLAGM Daewoo Auto & Technology
  • KLMAdvanced Transportation Technology R&D
  • KM1Hyosung Motors & Machinery
  • KM4Kr Motors
  • KM8Hyundai Motor
  • KMFHyundai Motor
  • KMHHyundai Motor
  • KMTHyundai Motor
  • KMUHyundai Motor
  • KMYDaelim Motor
  • KNAKia
  • KNDKia
  • KNJKia Motors (ford Imports)
  • KNMRenault Samsung Motors
  • KPHHyundai Motor
  • KPSSsangyong Motor
  • KUSUlb
  • KUTUlb

Source: NHTSA vPIC, October 2026 release (database updated October 17, 2026). How the figures are counted: How the catalog is read.