What are vehicles?
Vehicles in X-Cart are organized in a customizable multi-level hierarchy powered by the Make/Model/Year (MMY) add-on. The hierarchy consists of Level entities (Level1→Level2→Level3→Level4; for example, Make→Model→Year→Submodel).
In practice, each vehicle is represented as a path through this hierarchy. For example:
Toyota → Corolla → 2024 → LE Sedan
This structure allows the store to precisely identify a vehicle and match it with compatible products.
Level entities populate the vehicle selection dropdowns (selectors) in the MMY interface. Each level corresponds to a selector, and the available options at each step are dynamically generated based on the previous selection:
Make — manufacturer (e.g., Toyota)
Model — product line (e.g., Corolla)
Year — model year (e.g., 2024)
Submodel — specific configuration or trim (e.g., LE Sedan)
For example, once a user selects a Make, the Model selector is populated only with models available for that make. After selecting a Model, the Year selector shows only the relevant years, and so on. This cascading logic ensures that users can only select valid combinations that exist in the vehicle hierarchy.
By selecting a full MMY path, the system can filter and display only the products that fit the chosen vehicle, enabling accurate fitment-based search and navigation.
Vehicle hierarchy levels
X-Cart supports 2, 3, or 4 levels of vehicle hierarchy. You choose how many levels to use in the MMY add-on settings.
Levels | Default Labels | Example |
2 levels | Make → Model | Toyota → Corolla |
3 levels | Make → Model → Year | Toyota → Corolla → 2024 |
4 levels | Make → Model → Year → Submodel | Toyota → Corolla → 2024 → LE Sedan |
Key points:
Level labels are fully customizable. For example, you can rename "Make" to "Manufacturer" and "Year" to "Generation" — whatever suits your catalog.
Most automotive stores use either 3 levels (Make/Model/Year) or 4 levels (Make/Model/Year/Submodel). NB: The ATD integration used as a standalone solution employs Trim instead of Submodel at Level 4.
The order of these levels in X-Cart is fully customizable. You are not required to follow the standard Make → Model → Year → Submodel sequence. For example, you may choose to start with Year as the first selection step, if that better fits your catalog structure or user behavior.
However, keep in mind that the level order you define is global and consistent across the system. The same hierarchy configuration is used both in the Admin area and in the storefront. This means that any changes to the level order will affect how vehicles are managed in the back end and how customers select vehicles on the front end, so the structure should be planned carefully with both use cases in mind.
Where do vehicles come from?
Vehicles can enter your store in several ways:
Preloaded vehicle data packages — Vehicle data sets that can be loaded into your store by the X-Cart team upon request. This is typically discussed during the onboarding process, when the support team selects and installs appropriate vehicle files based on what you sell and the markets you serve.
Import from AutoCare VCdb (Vehicle Configuration Database) — an industry-standard database maintained by the Auto Care Association.
Key facts about VCdb:
Is provided as a paid subscription;
Contains comprehensive vehicle information for the North American market;
Allows to get vehicle data segmented by:
region (United States, Canada, and Mexico);
vehicle type group (Light Duty Car, Light Duty Truck, Van, Motorcycle (Street/Off-road), ATV, Power Sport (Snowmobile, Scooter), Watercraft, Utility Vehicle, etc.).
Auto integration import — Automatically pulled from catalog or warehouse distributor databases:
AutoSync — Imports vehicles from the AutoSync vehicle database. Includes detailed specs like body type, doors, bed length, drive type, wheel/tire specifications.
SEMA Data / ASAP Network — Imports vehicles from ACES-standard catalogs.
ATD — Imports vehicles from the ATD database (uses Year/Make/Model/Trim structure).
Turn14 Distribution — Imports vehicle fitments along with product data.
Keystone — Imports vehicles from Keystone's catalog.
CSV import — Upload vehicles manually via a CSV file named mmy-*.csv. The columns match your configured levels:
Make, Model, Year, Submodel
Toyota, Corolla, 2024, LE Sedan
Toyota, Corolla, 2024, SE Sedan
Toyota, Camry, 2024, XLE V6See Importing and exporting Make/Model/Year data for details.
Manual entry — Create vehicles one by one in the admin panel under Catalog → Vehicles & Fitments. See Configuring filters.
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