Fifty-five percent of consumers who bought electric and hybridcars in 2013 were between the ages of 36 and 55.

According to Experian Automotive, that age group outpaced thosein the 56 years and older category, who comprised 45% of thevehicles' purchases.

Additionally, nearly 21% of consumers who bought an electric carlast year had an average household income of $175,000 or more.Conversely, only 12% of consumers purchasing a hybrid had anaverage household income of the same level.

Experian Automotive's analysis also found that, overall,consumers purchasing a new electric vehicle had a higher creditscore (749) than those purchasing a new hybrid (741). The studyalso showed that the average monthly payment for a new electricvehicle was $549, which was $82 more than a new hybrid ($467).

The average length of a lease for an electric vehicle was 29 months, while the averagelength for a hybrid was 35 months.

In 2013, the average monthly lease payment for an electric was$263, while the average monthly lease payment for a hybrid was$386.

Experian Automotive also looked at the volume of each of thesevehicle segments on the road. Findings showed that while hybridsmade up nearly 98% of all alternative-powered vehicles in operationat the end of 2013, electric vehicles grew at a much faster rate,increasing by approximately 245% from a year ago. The number ofhybrids on the road grew by roughly 19%.

“At first glance, one would imagine that consumers purchasingeither a hybrid or electric vehicle would be nearly identical; bothare environmentally conscious, are of similar ages and have higherincome levels,” said Melinda Zabritski, senior director forExperian Automotive.

She added, “While for the most part those statements ring true,our research shows that there are slight differences between thetwo. One possible reason for the disparity could be the growingpopularity of the higher-end luxury electric models available.”