Experian’s State of Credit report recently highlighted the credit savviness of four generational groups, and showed how differently they manage their financial obligations. As you’d expect, there were several intriguing findings, so we extended the research to see how these same generational groups would differ when it comes to buying a vehicle.
In a recent analysis of market trends in the automotive industry, Experian Automotive looked at vehicle registrations, and examined the car buying habits of Millennials (up to 32 years old), Generation X (33-48 years old), Baby Boomers (49-67 years old) and the Silent Generation (68-85 years old).
Interestingly, Millennials and Generation X had similar taste in the new vehicles they purchased, differing only in order of preference. The Honda Civic, Ford F-150, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 made up the top five for Millennials, while the Generation X list consisted of the Ford F-150, Honda Accord, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Toyota Camry and Honda Civic.
Baby Boomers shared a similarity with Generation X, as the F-150 was also their vehicle of choice. The rest of the top five new vehicles for Baby Boomers were the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Honda CR-V. The top five for the Silent Generation consisted of the Toyota Camry, Ford F-150, Honda Escape, Honda Accord and Hyundai Sonata.
Other findings from the analysis included:
• Twenty-five percent of new vehicles financed by the Silent Generation were leases
• Generation X and Baby Boomers purchased vehicles with the highest average values in the quarter, $29,494 and $28,764, respectively
• Baby Boomers purchased the highest percentage of Hybrid vehicles (47 percent), while Millennials purchased the lowest (9 percent)
• Baby Boomers purchased the highest percentage of new import vehicles and new domestic vehicles at 42.5 percent and 43.2 percent, respectively