How Can You Tell if a Car is Made in Canada?

The rise of global trade tariffs impacts all aspects of the Canadian economy, none more so than the auto industry. After decades of economic stability, this new trade war is affecting jobs in the industry and the price of vehicles, depending on where they were produced. Since April 2025, the United States government has applied a 25 per cent tariff on all cars made outside that country. The Canadian federal government has retaliated with the same 25 per cent levy on vehicles originating in the U.S. being sold here. This means that if you are a Canadian in the market for a vehicle, knowing where a car you are interested in is made is more important than ever.

While the list of new vehicles assembled in Canadian factories may vary as this tariff war unfolds, one way to know if your car has been made in Canada is by checking out its VIN, which stands for vehicle identification number.

The Primary Role of a Car's VIN is to Identify Where it's Been Produced

Each vehicle has a unique VIN that tracks and identifies it throughout its life, from assembly to maintenance to being scrapped. On top of other vehicle attributes, located in the VIN is an indication of the car's final assembly location, even if some of its production occurs in different countries, which has become a complicated issue regarding the application of tariffs.

Due to the highly integrated nature of the North American automotive supply chain between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, many vehicles are produced in different locations and shipped to various plants for assembly. Some vehicle parts frequently cross borders. Between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, Mich., that can happen five to eight times before a part is assembled into a complete vehicle.

There’s no better example of the complexity of the North American supply chain than the Ford F-150 pickup truck, one of North America's most popular new vehicles for almost five decades.

While it's viewed as an American-made vehicle, assembled in two U.S. plants (one in Michigan and one in Missouri), according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), just 32 per cent of the Ford truck's parts are made in America, with the remaining majority of parts imported from around the world, including Canada and Mexico.

The inconsistency of the "nationality" of a vehicle has spread across all brands sold in Canada. It can even be tricky figuring this out within a single model range. Since the 2024 model year, the origin of production of Subaru's Crosstrek compact crossover has been split. Trims powered by the 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine come from Japan, while Crosstreks assembled in Indiana use the more powerful 2.5-litre engine.

How Do I Decode a VIN?

Every car's VIN consists of a code of 17 letters and numbers. Like a citizen's national passport number, this single identifying number allows a more convenient tracking process across various vehicle life stages worldwide.

Confirming where a car is made is the easiest part of decoding a VIN. The first three digits, known as the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI), indicate the country where the vehicle was assembled. A car built in Canada will have a VIN beginning with the number 2. For vehicles made outside of the country, here's a list of WMI country codes to figure out where the car was produced and where it lands in the trade tariff regulations:

• United States: 1, 4, 5, or 7
• Mexico: 3
• Japan: J
• South Korea: K
• United Kingdom: S
• Germany: W
• Sweden or Finland: Y
• Italy: Z

Beyond where a car was finally assembled, the VIN contains a lot more information about the vehicle:

• The fourth to eighth digits describe the model, body style, engine, transmission, and more;
• The ninth digit represented the model year;
• The 10th digit indicates the specific manufacturing manufacturing plant where the automobile was assembled;
• the remaining 11th to 17th digits are unique identifiers that distinguish each automobile form others produced by the same manufacturer.

Without obtaining sheets of VIN codes from the automaker, car buyers can easily decode and decipher them through an online VIN decoder.

Where to Find a Vehicle's VIN

Whether you already have physical access to a car, are shopping at the dealer, or are checking out an online listing, there are various ways to locate a VIN.

If you're at the dealer, the top right of the window sticker found on every new car shows where it was built. New or used, you can also see the VIN by peering through the front windshield on the driver's side, near the bottom corner of the windshield. The VIN is also often located on the driver's side door jamb or pillar or inside the door, where it latches. This is also where all cars have a plate that shows where final assembly happened.

Suppose you have access to the engine bay. In that case, the number can also be found on the engine's firewall or the front of the engine block, and listed on your vehicle registration, insurance documents, and service records.

What Else Can a VIN Tell Me?

Beyond navigating through the current tariff issues, a VIN can also be used to see if a car has any open manufacturer defect recalls or has ever been stolen.

You can use Transport Canada's website to check for vehicle recalls in Canada. You must enter the vehicle's make, model, and year into the federal department's Motor Vehicle Safety Recalls Database search fields. Alternatively, many manufacturers have a VIN lookup tool on their websites.

To confirm if a car has been reported stolen, go to the Canadian Police Information Centre website, where you can search for the VIN on the CPIC database. VIN check providers like Carfax Canada and VinAudit.ca can also help determine if a car is stolen for a fee.