SsangYong VIN Decoder

Decode any SsangYong VIN free in seconds. Enter the 17-character vehicle identification number from your SsangYong into the decoder above and get the model, year, engine, trim, and recall status instantly, with no sign-up and no credit card.

This page is the SsangYong VIN hub: WMI codes, a position-by-position guide to reading the VIN, where to find it on your vehicle, and how to check for open recalls in South Korea.
A quick note on the name and the market: SsangYong Motor Company was renamed KG Mobility Corp. in March 2023, after KG Group acquired a controlling stake in 2022 following the automaker’s second bankruptcy and court receivership. KG Mobility is the current legal name; SsangYong remains the badge on the vehicles themselves and is still how most owners and shoppers refer to the brand, which is why this page targets that name. SsangYong-badged vehicles are sold across South Korea, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and other export markets, but not in the United States, so this page uses South Korea’s own vehicle-identification and recall framework rather than the NHTSA references on this site’s US-market pages. The 17-character VIN itself follows the same worldwide ISO 3779 standard every carmaker uses, so the decoder above reads it the same way it reads a Ford or Toyota VIN.

About SsangYong (now KG Mobility)

The company’s roots go back to 1954, when the Ha Dong-hwan Motor Workshop began building trucks, buses, and military vehicles in South Korea. Through mergers over the following decades (Dongbang Motor, then Dong-A Motor), it built Jeep CJ-5 variants under license and acquired the Korando name in 1984. The SsangYong Business Group, a Korean conglomerate, took control in 1986 and renamed it SsangYong Motor Company, the name that stayed on the badge for 37 years.

Ownership after that was turbulent even by industry standards. Daewoo Motor bought a controlling stake in 1997 and sold it off after its own 2000 collapse. China’s SAIC Motor took over in 2004, invested little, and walked away when SsangYong filed for its first bankruptcy in 2009 amid labor unrest. India’s Mahindra & Mahindra (covered on this site’s separate Mahindra pages) took a majority stake in 2011, but SsangYong entered a second court receivership in December 2020 after Mahindra couldn’t find a buyer. A deal with Edison Motors fell through in 2022, and KG Group, a Korean steel and chemicals conglomerate, won the bid instead, taking a 61.86% stake that August; the rebrand to KG Mobility followed in March 2023. Today KG Mobility builds the Rexton, Torres, Musso, and Korando at the same Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province plant that has served as headquarters and main assembly site since 1979.

SsangYong WMI codes (positions 1-3)

The first three characters of any VIN are the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI), assigned under ISO 3780 by SAE International. The letter K marks a vehicle built in South Korea. SsangYong-built vehicles use these WMIs:

NHTSA’s public vPIC lookup returns a single match for “SsangYong”: WMI KPS, filed under the older name “SsangYong Motor Co. Ltd.” That record shows NHTSA’s registry isn’t comprehensive for a manufacturer that has never sold cars in the US; real-world SsangYong/KGM production VINs run on KPA and KPT. Decoding a SsangYong VIN through vPIC returns an explicit “manufacturer is not registered … for sale or importation in the U.S.” error, which is expected. If the VIN in front of you doesn’t start with KP, it isn’t a South Korea-built SsangYong.

How to read a SsangYong VIN: position by position

Every current SsangYong VIN follows the same ISO 3779 17-character structure used worldwide. The 17 characters split into three blocks:

Here is what each position means specifically on a SsangYong:

Positions 1-3: World Manufacturer Identifier

See the WMI table above. Every SsangYong built in South Korea carries a KP-prefixed WMI, whether it’s a Korando for the domestic market or a Rexton for export; the specific vehicle line is narrowed down in the block that follows.

Positions 4-8: Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS)

These five characters encode the model line, body style, engine and fuel type (diesel, petrol, or electric on the newer Torres EVX and Musso EV), and restraint system: the block that separates a Korando from a Torres, or a Rexton from a Musso.

Position 9: Check digit

The check digit is the single most important character in any VIN, calculated from the other 16 characters using a fixed weighting table and modulo-11 math. If even one character of a SsangYong VIN is mistyped or altered, the check digit won’t match, and a compliant decoder will flag the VIN as invalid.

Position 10: Model year

The 10th character maps to a model year on a 30-year cycle, identical worldwide under ISO 3779. Skim the chart below to translate yours:

The letters I, O, and Q are never used in any VIN, including SsangYong’s, because they look too similar to the digits 1 and 0.

Position 11: Assembly plant

The single character at position 11 identifies the specific factory. Unlike multi-plant manufacturers, nearly every SsangYong on the road came from one site: the Pyeongtaek plant covered above.

Positions 12-17: Serial number

The final six characters are the production sequence number stamped on your specific vehicle as it rolled off the line. Combined with the previous 11 characters, this makes every SsangYong VIN globally unique.

Where to find the VIN on a SsangYong

You can find your SsangYong’s VIN in several places. The windshield and door jamb are easiest to read; the others help when a label has been damaged or replaced.

• Lower corner of the windshield, visible from outside the vehicle
• Driver’s side door jamb sticker (VIN, tyre pressure, paint and trim codes)
• Stamped on the chassis or engine bay firewall
• Vehicle registration certificate and KG Mobility (or, on older paperwork, SsangYong) service documents

SsangYong’s history predates the modern VIN by decades: the company was building trucks and buses from 1954, well before South Korea adopted the 17-character ISO format, so a genuinely old commercial vehicle may carry a shorter, non-standard chassis number. The decoder above is built for the standard format used on SsangYong vehicles from the 1990s onward; for older, non-standard formats, see our classic car VIN decoder guide.

Check SsangYong recalls and safety information

South Korea doesn’t use NHTSA. Vehicle safety standards and recall enforcement fall under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), which can order a recall when a vehicle carries a defect affecting safe driving. Day-to-day administration, including collecting and analyzing safety-defect reports, runs through the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (KOTSA) and its Motor Vehicle Recall Center.

The fastest way to check a specific SsangYong:

1. Decode the VIN with the tool above to confirm the model and model year
2. Check the official Motor Vehicle Recall Center at car.go.kr, operated by KOTSA on behalf of MOLIT, where owners can search by registration number and report suspected defects
3. Contact your nearest KG Mobility (SsangYong) authorised service centre with the VIN for confirmation and free recall repair

Recall repairs ordered under South Korea’s Motor Vehicle Management Act are free of charge.

Frequently asked questions

How do I decode my SsangYong VIN?

Type the 17-character VIN from your SsangYong’s windshield, door jamb, or registration certificate into the decoder at the top of this page. Results return in seconds and include model, year, body style, engine and fuel type, and any known recalls. No sign-up is required.

Where is the VIN on my SsangYong?

The most reliable sources are the lower corner of the windshield and the door jamb sticker. Many models also carry the VIN stamped on the chassis or firewall, and it appears on your registration certificate.

Is SsangYong sold in the USA?

No. SsangYong-badged vehicles, now built by KG Mobility, are sold across South Korea, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia, but not under either name in the United States.

Is SsangYong the same company as KG Mobility?

Yes. SsangYong Motor Company was renamed KG Mobility Corp. in March 2023, after KG Group acquired a controlling stake in 2022 following a second bankruptcy and court receivership. Same manufacturer, same plant, same models; only the corporate name changed. The vehicles still wear the SsangYong badge.

Is the SsangYong VIN decoder free?

Yes. VinDecoderPlus decodes every SsangYong VIN free of charge with no sign-up or credit card required.

What does the VIN tell me about my SsangYong?

A VIN decode confirms the factory configuration: model, model year, body style, engine and fuel type, and any recall actions registered under South Korea’s MOLIT/KOTSA framework. It does not record paint colour, odometer reading, accident history, or ownership chain.

Is a SsangYong VIN the same 17-character format as a European or American car’s VIN?

Yes. SsangYong follows the same ISO 3779 standard used worldwide, with a KP-prefixed WMI identifying it as a South Korea-built SsangYong. The only real difference from a US-market brand is the regulator behind recalls: MOLIT and KOTSA, rather than NHTSA and US state DMVs.

Decode any SsangYong VIN free

Type your 17-character SsangYong VIN into the decoder at the top of this page and get a full breakdown instantly. To learn more about VIN structure in general, see our guides:

• How to read a VIN number
• What every character in a VIN means
• Classic car VIN decoder (pre-1981)
• VIN decoder vs. vehicle history report
• How to check if a car is stolen by VIN