This International Standard specifies the content and structure of an identifier in order to establish, on a world-wide basis, the identification of the manufacturers of parts for road vehicles; this identifier may serve, at the manufacturer's option, as a substitute or an addition for various national or international systems which already exist, such as name and address, trade mark, etc.
The purpose of this International Standard is not to prescribe the existence of a marking but to unify its structure when, for whatever reason, it is present. Nor is the purpose to identify each part but merely the manufacturer who has taken the responsibility for it.