Socio-economic data on grid level (SUF 6.1). Car segments

Due to an increasing variety of the product lines of car manufacturers, brand manufacturers supply cars in almost every segment. The brand of one's car does not allow for conclusions about the socio-economic status. For the car segments, cars have been aggregated to classes that allow for this kind of conclusion. In addition to the car capability, car segments provide information on the intended use of the car. The dataset comprises of 12 car segments: mini cars, compact cars, lower mid-range cars, mid-range cars, upper mid-range cars, top-of-the-range cars, ATVs, cabriolets, estate cars, vans, utility vehicles, other vehicles (microm 2016, p. 96). The following classes are available.
Mini cars: Mini cars used to be included in the segment of small cars, but not constitute an own segment due to an increased market share. These vehicles are characterized by an exceptionally small size. Sometimes they only provide two seats (examples: Renault Twingo, Ford Ka, VW Up, Peugeot 107 and smart fortwo) (microm 2016, p. 97).
Compact cars: The definition of a compact car is controversial and has changed over time. The general idea is that of a cheap way to be mobile on four wheels with a roof, often with compromises regarding space and comfort (examples: VW Polo, Opel Corsa, Ford Fiesta, Fiat Punto, Peugeot 207 and Renault Clio) (microm 2016, p. 97).

鉴于汽车制造商的产品线日益多元化，品牌车企几乎覆盖了所有汽车细分市场。仅凭汽车品牌无法推断车主的社会经济地位。为此，本数据集将汽车按可反映社会经济地位的类别进行聚合分组。除车辆性能外，汽车细分市场还可体现车辆的预期用途。本数据集共涵盖12类汽车细分市场：微型轿车（mini cars）、紧凑型轿车（compact cars）、入门级中端轿车、中端轿车、高端中端轿车、顶级旗舰轿车、全地形车（ATVs）、敞篷车（cabriolets）、旅行轿车（estate cars）、厢式货车（vans）、多用途车（utility vehicles）及其他车型（microm 2016, p. 96）。

微型轿车（mini cars）：该类车型曾被归入小型轿车细分市场，但由于市场份额持续增长，现已成为独立细分市场。此类车辆的显著特征为尺寸极小，部分车型仅配备两座（示例：雷诺Twingo、福特Ka、大众Up、标致107以及smart fortwo）（microm 2016, p. 97）。

紧凑型轿车（compact cars）：紧凑型轿车的定义存在争议，且随时代变迁不断演变。其核心内涵为兼顾经济性的四轮带顶出行工具，通常在空间与舒适性方面有所取舍（示例：大众Polo、欧宝Corsa、福特Fiesta、菲亚特Punto、标致207以及雷诺Clio）（microm 2016, p. 97）。