While millennials, in general, have been slower to apply forcredit than previous generations have, they are more willing topurchase cars via auto loans than to lease them, accordingto Experian.

The Costa Mesa, Calif.-based consumer data firm released ananalysis of the largest generation in the U.S. today and comparedthem to results from other generations.

For the purposes of the analysis, Experian identifiedmillennials as those aged 19 to 34, Generation X as those aged 35to 49, and baby boomers and the greatest generation combined asthose aged 50 to 87.

The firm reported that while millennials lag behind Gen X incredit card openings, they are ahead in terms of auto loans andstudent loans.

Experian found, for example, that only 27% of millennials hadopened credit card accounts by a certain age, while 46% of Gen Xmembers had done so by the same age. However, student loanscomprise 24% of all new accounts for millennials, but only 20% forGen X members of a comparable age. And while only 1% of Gen Xindividuals at a given age had purchased a car with an auto loan in1998, 14% of millennials had done so at the same age.

“We're seeing that millennials are purchasing cars at a muchearlier point in life, which is giving them the opportunity tobuild credit a little differently than previous generations,”Experian Director of Public Education Rod Griffin said. “This is acritical time for members of this generation as they are learningto use credit as a tool. With so many financial education resourcesavailable to help them, we believe that members of this generationare more empowered and informed than members of other generationsand are starting their adult lives off by building strong credit asthey set out on their own.”

However, while the analysis found that while millennials areslow to take out credit cards, they tend to use them more when theydo they take them out. That generation used bank cards more (43%)than Gen X (41%), and baby boomers and the greatest generation(25%) did.

Experian also reported millennials had average creditscores of 625, compared to 650 for Gen X and 709 for babyboomers and greatest generation. In addition, whilemillennials had an average income of $34,430, they had an averagedebt load, excluding mortgages, of $26,485, which was almost ashigh or higher than for other generations, even though othergenerations had significantly higher average incomes.

“Given the significance millennials play in financial servicesand the credit marketplace, it is crucial to understand thisinfluential consumer segment and how they use credit as a tool,”Experian Vice President of Analytics and Business DevelopmentMichele Raneri said. “While this generation may not look like theyare on the right track financially, it's important to keep in mindthat credit scores are built on credit experiences, and while thisgeneration has been slower to use credit, they have plenty ofopportunities to build a positive credit history. The best way todo that is to understand credit before using it.”