Vehicle Buyers by Age

Vehicle buyers are older than the typical American and buyers in 2017 are older than buyers in 2007, as shown in these two 100% stacked bar charts. Americans 55 and over make up 38% of the adult population, but 52% of vehicle buyers. While those 34 and under are 30% of the US adult population, but only 14% of vehicle buyers.

This trend is more pronounced now than a decade ago. The largest changes occurred in vehicle buyers 65 and over and those between 35 and 44. The 65 and over segment grew from 13% to 27% of purchasers. The 35-44 segment shrunk from 29% to 14% of purchasers. Data were compiled by Green Car Congress.

Vehicle Buyers by Age in Two 100% Stacked Bar Charts with Data Columns

How I Made these 100% Stacked Bar Charts with Data Columns

Vehicle buyer data for these charts are presented below:

Here's how I made the 100% stacked bar chart with data column on the left:

create a 1/2 page left chart in PowerPoint and change type to 100% stacked bar
type in data from Green Car Congress for vehicle buyers by age in 2017
add data for % of adult population from US Census and/or Wikipedia
add data column and put in formula to calculate difference between two other columns
in Bars and Series dialog, designate column D as a CAGR column
add legend and align with CAGR
hide "CAGR" from CAGR column label
hide axis lines, tick marks and labels by right-clicking on each axis
adjust internal margins and bar gaps
add y axis title, bold and align with left of first bar
adjust internal margins and bar gaps
change colors of series