Green car buyers pay more likely to pay with cash, have better credit

The overall green-car segment has been in a bad place recently. Sales fell in 2014 and haven’t really rebounded yet this year. Also, studies have suggested that more buyers sold their hybrids and EVs for SUVs than in the past. Drivers in this market can put one feather in their caps, though, because in general they seem more financially secure than the average person when buying an auto.

A study from Experian shows several examples of this interesting phenomenon, according to Green Car Reports. For instance, hybrid and plug-in buyers tend to pay in cash slightly more often than the average customer. The research shows 18 percent of green drivers laid out the whole amount for their vehicle last year, compared to 15.2 percent overall.

Also, those green customers who don’t pay in a lump sum are still likely getting pretty good financing offers. According to Experian’s study, 83 percent of hybrid and plug-in buyers have prime credit and carry an average score of 737. In comparison, 71.5 percent of customers for purely combustion engines have top credit with a mean score of 711.

While the green-car market might not be hot, it seems that the people buying them are just the type of shoppers dealers want to see.