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- The ONS defines high earners as those with a salary of more than £75,000 a year.
- Auto Trader analyzed the brands that tend to be owned by people at this salary level
What does the car you drive say about how well you are doing?
There are particular brands that suggest the person behind the wheel earns a lot, according to a new report.
It has revealed the 10 vehicle brands owned by those earning more than £75,000 a year.
Which brand is most commonly owned by high-income people? We’ll give you a clue: it’s a premium German brand.
Cars have long been used as a statement of wealth and success.
Auto Trader, the UK’s largest car marketplace, has carried out a study to understand whether premium motor brands are still the status symbol they used to be, or whether other types of cars, such as electric vehicles (EV ), are becoming the next flagship. Prestige.
To find out which cars higher earners drive, it surveyed almost 1,300 UK drivers aged 18 and over and compared their results to their salary.
With the Office for National Statistics defining high earners as those earning more than £75,000 at home, the brand most commonly pushed by respondents in the salary range is BMW.
About one in six (16 percent) of high-income earners said they drive a car made by the premium German manufacturer.
Second on the list was neighboring car company Audi, with 15 per cent of drivers earning £75,000 owning a model with the four rings logo on the bonnet.
In third place was Ford (14 percent), ahead of Mercedes-Benz (12 percent), Toyota (8 percent) and Volvo (8 percent).
While the results show a number of brands typically associated with wealth, including Land Rover in 10th place with a 6 percent share of top-earning drivers, the rest of the top ten rankings include more affordable brands such as Nissan and Vauxhall.
“Responses from the UK’s highest earners show that the car people drive does not always provide a clear indicator of their income,” Auto Trader concluded.
Audi came second in the list of car brands owned by drivers earning more than £75,000 a year.
According to a study by Auto Trader, more people with incomes over £75,000 drive Fords than Mercedes-Benz models.
People with higher incomes are more likely to opt for electricity
But the study found that people with higher incomes in the UK are more likely to drive an electric or hybrid vehicle.
Given the high price associated with electric vehicles, it is not surprising that it is people with higher incomes who are most likely to drive one.
Studies have also found that more than four in five EV drivers in the country charge their cars at home, suggesting that most have driveways, garages or some type of off-street parking.
Auto Trader Study found that a quarter (25 per cent) of people in the UK’s highest income group own a motor, either fully or partially powered by a battery.
Unsurprisingly, the next most likely income group to drive EVs are those with household incomes between £55,000 and £65,000.
As part of the study, the researchers also looked specifically at electric cars that higher-income people drive the most, with Tesla leading the way.
This is arguably a sign that driving an electric car is quickly becoming a symbol of wealth and success, as the Musk-owned brand is widely regarded as a high-end premium manufacturer.