The new Audi A6 will achieve the highest possible score for vehicle security in Australia with the adoption of microdot identification.

Officially launching in Australia on 7th October 2004, the new Audi A6 will be the first vehicle in the company’s model range to carry the DataDot brand of VIN-based microdot identification.

The DataDots will also be applied to the compliance plates of the all new Audi A6, ensuring that the brand achieves the highest-possible score for vehicle identification in the theft scoring system of industry expert, Insurance Australia Group (IAG).

The A6 will also achieve the highest total score for vehicle security of any luxury vehicle, according to the Insurance Australia Group’s rating system.

From 2005, all Audi new vehicles will carry DataDot identification. The VIN based system comprises of thousands of tiny microdots imprinted with the vehicle’s unique seventeen digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).

Virtually invisible to the naked eye, the dots are sprayed onto major components throughout the car using a clear water-based adhesive that contains a UV trace.

When illuminated with a simple black light the adhesive produces a visible glow that indicates the areas where dots can be located. Using an inexpensive magnifier, authorities can read any one of the thousands of dots on the vehicle to establish its true identity. The pervasive coverage and size of the dots makes it impossible for a thief to remove them all, according to the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC).

Microdot technology has set a new world-leading standard in vehicle identification that makes it virtually impossible to change a vehicle’s unique vehicle identification number (VIN) and provides authorities with conclusive evidence of its true identity. The strategy is simple, says the NMVTRC; take away the professional thief’s ability to safely convert the vehicle to cash and you take away his motivation to steal the vehicle.

Effectively immediately, all new Audi vehicles will also feature the automatic activation of the company’s speed-sensitive central security locking system. The central locking system of the car is automatically engaged at 15 km/h and remains locked until the key is removed from the ignition.

The company’s safety central locking system is also a standard feature which is automatically programmed on all new vehicles. Pressing the ‘unlock’ button of the key once will disengage the driver’s side door lock, however to open all passenger doors and the boot now requires the driver to press the ‘unlock’ button twice.

Background information

Insurance Implications for Cars with Microdots (Source: National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council NMVTRC)
The Australian insurance industry is exposed to the nearly $500 million cost of professional vehicle theft each year which is reflected in insurance premiums. While a driver’s insurance history will have a major influence on his individual premium, all insurance companies do apply a rating factor based on the overall claims history of a particular model. Some insurance companies have already lowered this rating factor for models fitted with microdots in anticipation of lower claims. As the reduction in theft claims for new models fitted with microdots becomes evident insurers will adjust their rating calculations accordingly.

The NMVTRC is an initiative of all Australian governments and the insurance industry.

Insurance Australia Group Limited
Insurance Australia Group Limited is the parent company of Australia's leading general insurance group that has some of Australia and New Zealand's most trusted brands, including NRMA Insurance, SGIO, SGIC, CGU, State Insurance, Swann Insurance and NZI. Insurance Australia Group companies also issue motor, home other RACV branded products in Victoria.

The Insurance Australia Group applies the maximum 100 points for secure identification in its internationally recognised vehicle security ratings system for vehicles fitted with VIN based microdots.