Environmental Leader

Rich, older and active are adjectives that describe today’s hybrid vehicle owners, who also tend to be Democrats and Independents, according to (pdf) a recent analysis from Scarborough Research, Marketing Charts reports.

Markets at or near the top of the list for household hybrid ownership include Tucson, San Francisco, Washington DC and Las Vegas. Near or slightly above 2% of households in these markets own a hybrid vehicle, compared with less than 1% of households nationwide.

Among Scarborough’s other findings:

• Nearly half (42%) of US households that own or lease at least one hybrid vehicle have an annual income of $100,000 or more – more than twice the national average.
• The adults who live in those households, “Hybrid Owners,” are more than twice as likely as all US adults to have a college degree, including 27% of Hybrid Owners who have a postgraduate degree, compared with 9% of adults overall.
• Hybrid Owners also skew older than average, and are 23% more likely than average to be age 50+.
• Hybrid Owners’ politics:
  • The Democratic party includes the highest percentage of Hybrid Owners, 38%, whereas 14% are Republican, and 34% are Independent.
  • The Independents include those who said they were “Independent” (8% of Hybrid Owners); “Independent, but feel closer to Democrat,”(20% of Hybrid Owners), and “Independent, but feel closer to Republican” (6% of Hybrid Owners).
  • 15% of Hybrid Owners did not identify with a political party in the Scarborough analysis.
  • 81% of Hybrid Owners stated they “always” vote in presidential elections, versus 71% of the total US adult population.
• Hybrid Owners are active, engaged in outdoor activities, and health-conscious:
  • 33% of Hybrid Owners belong to a health/exercise club compared with 18% of the total population.
  • They engage in other sports such as biking (Hybrid Owners are 66% more likely than the national average to have gone biking during the past year) and yoga/pilates (more than twice as likely to engage in this leisure activity).
  • Hybrid Owners are more than twice as likely as all adults to have gone hiking/backpacking during the past year; 21% more likely to garden; more than three times more likely to snow ski; and 20% more likely to golf.
• Hybrid Owners are more than twice as likely as the average consumer to have used organic foods in their household during the past month.

“Hybrid vehicles…are generally acknowledged to be gaining momentum and popularity across the US,” said Alisa Joseph, vice-president, advertiser marketing services, Scarborough Research.

“In marketing hybrids, local dealerships have an opportunity to tap into the high incomes and high-activity level of this consumer group with advertising and promotions,” she said.

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