What sort of person drives a green car?

People who buy green “hybrid” cars tend to be a bit older, a bit richer, and bit more educated than your average car buyer, two new studies have found.

Research firm JD Power & Associates talked to more than 40,000 car drivers to build its snapshot of the green car owner, according to Marketing Charts.

They found the average hybrid car buyer – hybrid cars run on a mix of electric and petrol power – is 54, university educated and has above-average wealth.

They also tend to be proud advocates for green vehicles and are more willing to give positive recommendations about their ownership experience than other new vehicle buyers.

Another study, by Mindset Media, sought to construct a psychographic profile of the green car driver – and found they tend to be free thinking creative types.

They found hybrid car drivers tend to be more open-minded, politically liberal, more spontaneous, and assured of their ability to lead others.

By looking at Nielsen Online panel survey poll results, Mindset also found that green car drivers are 78% more likely to be highly creative and more likely to oppose dogmatic approaches to religion and politics.