“Millennials” and “electric vehicles.”

Auto industry buzzwords used for years at conferences to convey youth, emerging trends in car-buying, newcomers or rising stars.

Fact of the matter is, EVs are a “maturing” market, no longer considered “niche.”

And millennials, well, many of us are in our 40s, have mortgages, children and/or pets and have been buying cars for 25-plus years.

(Note: The term “millennial” is not a synonym for “young.” See previous sentence).

So, perhaps as one vehicle type moves from cult classic to “mainstream option” and a generation is now decades into full-on adulthood, it’s fitting their stars would align.

At least when it comes to buying used EVs online, a skill set this analogue-to-digital generation apparently has got in spades.

Online used-car retailer Carvana said in its EV Trends Report for the second quarter, released Tuesday, that millennials accounted for 65% of its electric vehicle sales in Q2. That’s more than Generation Z, Generation X and Baby Boomers combined.

Millennials, also known as Generation Y, over-index in EV share compared to their share of total Carvana sales, the retailer said in its report.

“The broadening appeal of electric vehicles across all demographic segments is a testament to the maturing EV market,” said Emily Knoll, Carvana’s senior director of inventory strategy, in a news release

“We’ve seen EVs evolve from a niche category favored by early adopters to a mainstream option considered by consumers of all ages and income levels. At Carvana, we’re committed to offering a wide range of vehicles to ensure every customer finds their perfect match.”

As EVs become more mainstream, they also appear to have become more accessible to more income brackets, according to Carvana data.

The retailer said all income groups are buying more EVs but falling prices have led to middle-income buyers realizing the sharpest gains in share.

Buyers with annual incomes between $50,000 and $100,000 represented nearly half of Carvana’s EV sales last quarter. And that generational disbursement of buyers is also likely to grow.

“Gen Z, whose EV purchases were about $2,000 cheaper on average than Carvana’s overall EV average selling price in Q2 2024, are likely to grow in share as EVs get more affordable,” Carvana said.

(Just like Gen Z to copy millennials, right?)

Providing further proof on the branching out of the EV market is what buyers are often trading in: internal combustion-engine vehicles.

The top five trade-ins for the Tesla Model 3 on the Carvana platform, for example, were the Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima and BMW 3 Series. The Civic was the No. 1 ICE vehicle traded in during Carvana EV sales.

Of course, many EVs were often traded in for other EVs. But perhaps another sign of a “maturing” segment? Brand loyalty.

“Tesla, Nissan and Chevrolet are building EV brand loyalty as buyers often trade out older models for newer EVs of the same make,” Carvana said.

Sounds like they’re growing up.