Thank you.
My point is very similar, except, just to assist the witnesses, the vehicle identification number also includes letters as well as numbers. It identifies not only the vehicle but also, as you stated, where it was made, the colour of it, the engine. It basically tells the people in the garage everything about that vehicle so that if you put it on another vehicle--in other words, you take it off and put it on another vehicle--it doesn't match. Sometimes the complete VINs are placed in various locations, and other times there are partial VINs, all to assist in the identification of the vehicle.
As you say, the licence plate only identifies who is the proper owner of the vehicle, not the identification of the vehicle, although the VIN number is included in the licence plate to assist police in verifying that.