Abstract: Clustering is an unsupervised learning technology, and it groups information (observations or datasets) according to similarity measures. Developing clustering algorithms is a hot topic in recent years, and this area develops rapidly with the increasing complexity of data and the volume of datasets. In this paper, the concept of clustering is introduced, and the clustering technologies are analyzed from traditional and modern perspectives. First, this paper summarizes the principles, advantages, and disadvantages of 20 traditional clustering algorithms and 4 modern algorithms. Then, the core elements of clustering are presented, such as similarity measures and evaluation index. Considering that data processing is often applied in vehicle engineering, finally, some specific applications of clustering algorithms in vehicles are listed and the future development of clustering in the era of big data is highlighted. The purpose of this review is to make a comprehensive survey that helps readers learn various clustering algorithms and choose the appropriate methods to use, especially in vehicles.