The results showed 20.7% of electric vehicle owners studied had a household income of $175,000 per year, while 73.6% were aged 55 or under. Drivers aged between 36 and 55 years of age accounted for 55% of the electric vehicle group, while 26% were aged 56 or older.

By comparison, 12.4% of hybrid drivers had a household income of over $175,000, and 54.6% were over 56 years old. The average credit score for both groups was similar, placing both hybrid and electric vehicle owners in the same banding based on Experian’s VantageScore 3.0 ranking.

However, it’s worth noting that the results are likely to be affected by the much broader availability of hybrid models in the United States compared to pure electric versions. Figures from Cars.com showed hybrids accounted for 101,906 unit sales during the first quarter of 2014, with the Toyota Prius (25,518 sales), Ford Fusion Hybrid (9,606 sales) and Prius C (8,833 sales) at the top of the chart. Electric vehicles are also more likely to be owned by multi-car families, due to range limitations.

By comparison, the Nissan LEAF (5,184 sales), Tesla Model S (3,800 estimated sales) and Ford Focus Electric (406 sales) were the biggest-selling pure electric models according to the same figures. Cars.com classes plug-in hybrids in the same group as electric cars, adding that the sector had grown from 17,963 units in the first quarter of 2013 to 21,881 units in 2014, a 21.8% increase.

Plug-in hybrids, led by the Chevrolet Volt (3,606 sales), Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid (3,296 sales) and Ford Fusion Energi (2,111 sales) are likely to be a major contributor to the downturn in conventional hybrid sales. The Cars.com study pointed out that these had fallen from 121,111 for the first three months of 2013 to 101,906 for the same period in 2014 – a 15.9% decline.