Abstract: A method for tracking extended objects in the surroundings of a vehicle includes the steps of: (a) providing modeled components for an object; (b) determining a detection from sensor data; and (c) determining the origin of the detection on the object using the modeled components. The process of determining the origin of the detection on the object includes determining association probabilities for the plurality of modeled components, in which the association probabilities indicate the degree of probability with which the detection is associated with the individual components of the modeled components.