Trends in Car Radio

90% of car customers believe that broadcast radio should be standard in all vehicles.

According to a major survey, more than 80% of customers are less inclined to buy or lease a car without a built-in radio tuner.Broadcast radio is much more popular than any other type of in-car audio. 93% want free radio access to continue.Voice controls and content information are among the most wanted radio features among car customers.Almost all (90%) of the survey respondents say a broadcast radio tuner should be standard equipment in every car, a trend that is consistent across age groups, indicating strong demand among current and future car buyers.

The survey also reveals that the availability of radio has a major impact on consumers’ vehicle purchasing decisions: 82% of potential car buyers say they would be less likely to buy or lease a vehicle that is not equipped with a built-in radio tuner.

A significant majority does not want to pay for radio - 93% believe it is 'essential' that radio stay free to listen to - as it is now via analogue and digital broadcast radio tuners. The relevance of free-to-air radio was emphasized by motorists' concerns about data charges for streaming content: a clear majority (70%) of those who now listen to audio via their mobile device are 'worried' about how much data they are consuming.

Day-to-day consumption of broadcast radio among motorists remains significantly higher than for any other form of audio content. 65% of respondents say they listen to broadcast radio in the car ‘frequently’, versus 23% for online streaming music services and 15% for CDs. Echoing the usage levels, a clear majority (80%) agree with the statement: “radio provides a better listening experience in the car than other types of audio sources.”  Respondents say the primary reason for listening is ‘to get news and information’, cited by 63%, followed by ‘to hear favourite songs’ (42%).

A significant majority does not want to pay for radio - 93% believe it is 'essential' that radio stay free to listen to - as it is now via analogue and digital broadcast radio tuners. The relevance of free-to-air radio was emphasized by motorists' concerns about data charges for streaming content: a clear majority (70%) of those who now listen to audio via their mobile device are 'worried' about how much data they are consuming.

Car buyers were also asked about their most desired added-value in-car radio features. Having an ‘ability to search for radio stations using voice controls’ is the most popular (mentioned by 58% of respondents), followed by ‘provision of information about content’ (54%).

Ongoing radio consumption trends

Broadcast radio use is quite high among today's automobile purchasers, with 89% having listened in the past week and 76% listening at least once per day.

The automobile is still the most popular place to listen to the radio, identified by an average of 89% of respondents, followed by 75% at home and 39% at work.

"This is a major piece of consumer research covering some of the largest automotive markets, yet attitudes about radio among car buyers across all of the countries surveyed were uncannily similar," says Tom Webster, Senior Vice President of Edison Research.

“It’s clear, too, that broadcast radio was singled out specifically as a must-have option. Roughly two-thirds of motorists across all countries surveyed indicated that they ‘would not listen to their favourite radio stations’ if they were only available online. For consumers the availability of free, easy-to-access broadcast radio as standard is an essential part of the in-car entertainment system and looks set to remain so.”