AM radio is disappearing from cars. Congress wants to stop that

By Chris Isidore, CNN

(CNN) — Chances are the last time you listened to a traditional radio was in a car.

Maybe you tuned in to a ballgame, a local news report, or a weather or traffic update. Maybe there’s even a talk or music station you’ve listened to for years, if not decades. In a car, it can be as simple as just tapping a button — much easier than finding it on your phone.

Broadcasters are fighting to make sure that doesn’t have to change.

Legislation passed in the House last month that would require all new cars to have an AM radio. Backers of the bill say the century-old tech is critical to ensuring all Americans still have a way to access emergency information.

Radios have been standard equipment in cars since before most of today’s drivers were born. The overwhelming majority of vehicles do include them. But automakers like Tesla, Volkswagen and Volvo have been removing AM radios from some newer models over the past few years, especially electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, since EV motors affect the sound.

“EVs and AM broadcasting technologies don’t always mix,” said John Bozzella, CEO of industry trade group Alliance for Automotive Innovation, during congressional testimony in April 2024. “The high-voltage electrical systems in EVs generate electromagnetic interference…. distort AM radio signals, affecting the listening experience for drivers and passengers. In other words: really staticky.”

Auto industry research finds that drivers rarely listen to analog AM radio, instead tuning in to streaming and satellite radio or digital AM and FM broadcasts. But the National Association of Broadcasters, who represent the radio stations, argues there are serious safety reasons to keep analog AM radio in cars.

Fewer and fewer American households have a traditional radio in their home, which can be an important source for emergency warnings during events like hurricanes, wildfires or terrorist attacks. That’s because some emergency situations can disrupt cell service, or a rush of usage can overwhelm networks, blocking phone alerts.

“When the power goes out, radio can often be that sole lifeline, and AM radio in particular has a reach and a durability that that other media just don’t simply have,” said Curtis LeGeyt, CEO of NAB.

Car radios are also critical to keeping radio stations in business. Fifty-three percent of the audience for AM and FM radio listen in cars, according to the NAB. That’s a big audience to lose.

AM radio is still used by more than 4,000 stations across the country, according to the Federal Communications Commission. That includes sports and talk radio, as well as religious programming and foreign language news, sports and music. The NAB says 82 million Americans listen to AM radio every month, and that broadcasts are particularly vital for rural and tribal communities where internet and cellular connection can be unreliable.

But automakers are always looking for ways to cut costs, said Ivan Drury, director of insights at car buying site Edmunds. If companies can save a little money by eliminating something they believe their customers don’t care about, they will.

“It might be that the cost of a single unit is downright silly,” said Drury, noting that an AM radio adds less than one-tenth of 1% to the cost of building the typical new car. “But when you make millions of them, it becomes significant.”

The automakers also object to the government interfering in parts of the design that don’t improve the safety of the vehicle, saying a radio is different from seat belts and air bags.

“Congress is opening a space for (the National Highway Safety Administration) to mandate vehicle equipment that falls outside the vehicle safety lane,” Bozzella testified. “NHTSA should be a vehicle safety agency – and an agency with boundaries.”

But the legislation, which heads to the Senate, does have significant bipartisan support. While it won’t get a vote before the midterm election next month, its supporters hope it passes in the lame duck session between election day and when the new Congress is seated.

“If it was put up for a vote tomorrow, it would pass overwhelmingly,” said LeGeyt.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.