How to Classify Vehicle Type Codes?
3 Answers
Vehicle type codes are classified by letters and numbers, with the initial letter and number representing the type of vehicle. Below is an introduction to vehicle type codes: Passenger cars and sedans are coded starting with K, here are some examples: K11 Large ordinary bus; K14 Large articulated bus; K15 Large off-road bus; K21 Medium ordinary bus; K22 Medium double-decker bus; K23 Medium sleeper bus; K31 Small ordinary bus; K32 Small off-road bus; K33 Sedan; K41 Mini ordinary bus; K42 Mini off-road bus; K43 Mini sedan. Trucks are coded starting with H, here are some examples: H12 Heavy-duty box truck; H21 Medium ordinary truck; H28 Medium special structure truck; H31 Light ordinary truck; H38 Light special structure truck; H41 Mini ordinary truck; H46 Mini special structure truck; H51 Low-speed ordinary truck. Tractors are coded starting with Q: Q11 Heavy-duty semi-trailer tractor; Q21 Medium semi-trailer tractor; Q31 Light semi-trailer tractor.
When I first entered this industry, I also struggled to understand these code classifications. Simply put, they are divided into three major categories: body type, drivetrain, and emissions. Body classifications use common letter codes for sedans, SUVs, etc. – for example, C stands for Coupe models, while X represents hybrid vehicles. Drivetrain types (front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, four-wheel drive) are marked by a letter in the third position of the code, with AWD indicating all-wheel drive. Emission standards are more detailed: China's National VI models carry an L6 suffix, while pure electric vehicles start with EV. New energy vehicles have separate classifications: PHEV for plug-in hybrids and REEV for range-extended electric vehicles. Modified vehicles use special codes too, such as FX for fire trucks and GC for engineering vehicles.
I once helped someone look up old vehicle archives and found the coding patterns quite interesting. For sedans, they're basically sorted by wheelbase letters, from A0 to D-class. SUVs are divided into hardcore and urban types, with those like the BJ40 carrying a 'J' indicating body-on-frame construction. For trucks, it's based on gross weight—light commercial vehicles (LCV) have an 'L' at the end of their code, while heavy-duty trucks (HDT) use an 'H'. Special-purpose vehicles are more complex: tow trucks have 'TS' in their numbering, and concrete mixers always include the letters 'MIX'. Nowadays, new energy vehicle coding is the most obvious—the 8th digit of a pure electric chassis number is always 'E', while fuel cell vehicles add 'FCEV' at the end of their model designation.
