• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, December 13, 2007

Hybrid Vehicle Owners are Active, Educated and Democratics

According to a recent analysis from Scarborough Research, almost half (42 percent) of the households in the U.S. that own or lease at least one hybrid vehicle have an annual income of $100,000 or more. That is more than twice the national average. The adults who live in these households, "Hybrid Owners," are more than twice as likely as all U.S. adults to have a college degree. This includes the twenty-seven percent of Hybrid Owners who have a post graduate degree, compared to nine percent of adults overall. Hybrid Owners skew older than average, and are 23 percent more likely than average to be aged 50+.

Politically:

• Thirty-eight percent of Hybrid Owners cite Democrat as their political party affiliation
• Fourteen percent are Republican
• 34 percent are Independent
• Fifteen percent of Hybrid Owners did not identify with a political party
• Eighty-one percent of Hybrid Owners stated they "always" vote in presidential elections, versus 71 percent of the total U.S. adult population

Thirty-three percent of Hybrid Owners belong to a health/exercise club as opposed to 18 percent of the total population. 66 percent of Hybrid Owners are more likely than the national average to have gone biking during the past year, and yoga/pilates Hybrid Owners are more than twice as likely to engage in this leisure activity.

The Hybrid Owner consumer group is:

• More than twice as likely as all adults to have gone hiking/backpacking during the past year
• 21 percent more likely to garden
• More than three times more likely to snow ski
• 20 percent more likely to golf
• More than twice as likely as the average consumer to have used organic foods in their household during the past month

Alisa Joseph, vice president, advertiser marketing services, Scarborough Research, notes that "...Given that hybrids tend to be pricier than the average car ... people with higher incomes are attracted to these vehicles... local dealerships have an opportunity to tap into... the high-activity level of this consumer group with advertising and promotions."

The top of the list for household hybrid ownership include Tucson, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and Las Vegas, with nearly, or slightly above, two percent of households in these markets owning a hybrid vehicle, compared to less than one percent of households nationwide.

For the complete PDF report from Scarborough, please visit here.