Model Year vs Production Date: What's the Difference?
A car built in July can already be next year's model. Here's why, with real examples from factory records.
What the difference is
The production date is the day the car was built. The model year is the year it is sold as, and carmakers often start the next model year months before the calendar changes. That is why two cars that look the same and were built weeks apart can belong to different model years.
Real examples from factory records
- Bentley Continental GTC — built 14 July 2025, model year 2026
- Audi Q5 — built 26 October 2018, model year 2019
- Škoda Octavia — built 2 September 2024, model year 2025
- BMW S 1000 RR — built August 2021, model year 2022
How common it is
In our records it happens all the time. Most Porsches and Audis built between June and December carry the next year's model year, and so do many Volkswagens and Škodas.
Where the model year hides in the VIN
On cars built for North America, the 10th character of the VIN always encodes the model year, and many European makers use it too: K stands for 2019 and S for 2025. The letters repeat every 30 years, so V can mean 1997 or 2027. See how to decode a VIN for the rest of the code.
Why it matters
The model year often decides which equipment and parts apply to a car, so an advert that only gives the year of first registration can mislead. The factory record gives you both the production date and the model year, so there is no guessing.