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In 2007, sales of new hybrid cars rose by nearly 40%, despite a drop in overall automotive purchases. According to an American news agency, approximately 350,000 additional hybrid vehicles were purchased over the prior year - and by the end of 2007, nearly one million hybrid vehicles were on the road.

The jump in hybrid sales has been influenced, in part, by record gasoline prices. Indeed, as fuel efficiency becomes a higher priority, hybrid vehicles promise more bang for the buck at the gas pump. As a result, hybrids are beginning to make more and more financial sense for many consumers.

Some experts predict that global demand for hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) will continue to increase substantially through 2015 and beyond. The primary HEV market is likely to remain in the United States, but other countries may also demand their fair share. Cost disparities between HEVs and conventional vehicles are expected to decrease as production increases.

Through the Energy Act of 2005, the United States government has been providing Americans tax credits for those who purchase certain types of these wheeled innovations. Stipulations on the availability of these hybrid tax credits do exist. For example, the credit is only available to the original purchaser of a new, eligible vehicle. The tax credits also phase out over time. Therefore, consumers may wish to buy now to take advantage of the full credit. Furthermore, if a popular model’s credits are about to expire, consumers may be inclined to explore another eligible brand.

So who really buys these cars? At an automotive conference, a researcher attempted to answer that question by analyzing 2,600 surveys and dozens of in-person interviews of hybrid buyers.

What was discovered may not seem surprising, especially at first: Early buyers were of the “green” variety. Their primary goal was to purchase cars that minimized environmental impact. These remain hybrids’ top buyers. As the market diversified, the “techies” were the next to line up, followed by those valuing energy independence and then by those wanting better fuel economy.

What was revealed beyond that may have been more unexpected. Many hybrid buyers had not looked under the hood. Instead, they seemed to use the instrumentation as the source for understanding their cars. Evidently, the real-time display showing when the vehicle was running on gas, when it was running on electric power and the modes’ respective fuel economies was one of the only ways buyers identified their cars’ inner workings. Despite being enthusiastic about their cars’ abilities, many buyers had little idea how they worked. Although hybrid buyers are eager for the new technology, an actual understanding of how the technology operates is not necessarily a key factor.

The study’s results also indicate that principles have been a key motivator to hybrid buyers. According to the findings, most hybrid households made their purchases for a combination of three basic reasons: desire for independence and control, drive to preserve the environment and the appeal of new technology.

HEVs could be faced with some formidable competition, however. Different fuel-efficient vehicles, like those running on ethanol and diesel, are worthy of attention - especially as more hybrid buyers motivated by fuel efficiency surface. Europe’s market is already flooded by light diesels, with a large percentage of European automotive sales dedicated to them.

Automotive engineers are constantly innovating new ways to improve fuel economy. As more options are made available to consumers, there is hope for increasingly positive effects on the environment and economy.