standardize identifier for vehicle IDs

Suggestion

It would be helpful to use a standardized identifier, such as ISO 3779 Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), for the ID of each record in the database (vehicle make, model, trim, etc.) so that users can easily combine data across APIs.

• NREL Alternative Fuel Vehicles
• ORNL FuelEconomy.Gov
• NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• others?

This would obviously require coordination across maintainers/organizations (e.g. NREL and ORNL), but I think it would make these datasets/tools more useful.

Problem

I'd like to calculate metrics such as purchase price per mile of range ($/mi) for all 2023 EVs by using the Alternative Fuel Vehicles API to get all vehicles for a model year, and the FuelEconomy.Gov Tax Incentive API to get the available tax incentives for those vehicles. Currently (unless I'm missing something), I would have to write a script to somehow match the models across datasets or manually enter these in a spreadsheet for analysis.

Example

The Ford F-150 Lightning with Extended Range battery model is identified differently depending on the API.

NREL Alternative Fuel Vehicles

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
  <response>
    <metadata>
      <version>0.1.0</version>
    </metadata>
    <inputs>
      <id>13317</id>
    </inputs>
    <status type="integer">200</status>
    <result>
      <id type="integer">13317</id>
      <fuel-id type="integer">41</fuel-id>
      <phev-type nil="true"/>
      <light-duty-fuel-configuration-id type="integer">1</light-duty-fuel-configuration-id>
      <light-duty-manufacturer-id type="integer">219</light-duty-manufacturer-id>
      <light-duty-category-id type="integer">25</light-duty-category-id>
      <model>F150 Lightning 4WD Plat/Ext. Range</model>

ORNL Fuel Economy Incentive

<taxCreditVehicleCMBC>
  <atvType>EV</atvType>
  <baseModel>F-150 Lightning</baseModel>
  <createdOn>2023-06-01T00:00:00-04:00</createdOn>
  <irsMake>Ford</irsMake>
  <irsModel>F-150 Lightning (Extended Range Battery)</irsModel>

Solution(s)

Possible solution(s) could be...

1. Use VIN data from manufacturers. https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/decoder/
   • https://www.nhtsa.gov/part-583-american-automobile-labeling-act-reports
2. Use UUIDs.

The issue names the NREL Alternative Fuel Vehicles API, ORNL Fuel Economy Incentive API, and NHTSA VIN decoder, but no repository files, tests, or entry point. Start by reviewing the API data models and the linked external specifications. Done would require an agreed cross-API identifier and coordinated implementation across the affected datasets.