Car radios face the axe despite 50% increase in listeners - but safety could suffer

FOR almost a century now, the car radio has been a soundtrack to our lives - and yet, it could be under serious threat. Listening to live radio in the car has grown by more than 50% in 20 years, with almost 12 million Brits saying the car is the only place we listen to the radio, according to Ofcom. In the UK since 2020, if a car comes with a radio, then it must receive digital radio stations. But there is no legal requirement for car makers to provide a radio at all. And, as more dashboards become touchscreens, some manufacturers are leaving out radios altogether. This has led lawmakers in France and the United States to consider introducing stronger legislation to protect the car radio - arguing that it’s in the interest of public safety. Meanwhile, in Britain, a review of digital radio and audio will be put before ministers by the end of the year and will be published early next. An example of the necessity for car radios - cited by the president of Radio France - is the massive power cut that hit Spain, Portugal and parts of Southern France in 2025, causing chaos, crippling transport systems, cutting off phone networks, and closing shops, offices, and restaurants. Rafa Panadero, deputy editor of Spanish radio station Cadena SER’s afternoon programme, La Ventana, agreed, saying: “I remember a car stopped in the middle of the road, doors open, the radio at full volume. People had gathered around it to listen to SER. It was one of many moments of pride that day.” The rise of natural disasters and cyberattacks, say campaigners, mean that a car without a radio is a blind spot for civil protection. Growth in car radios came about in the UK when the motorways were launched in the 1950s, because there were people on long journeys needing to be kept alert and who wanted to feel part of a community - which they found on the radio. Radio 2 presenter Sally Boazman, aka Sally Traffic, says: “It's all to do with human contact, isn't it, really? I keep saying that people like me are not going to exist for much longer, because you can get all of what we do electronically. But I think the difference is, I care.” But the car radio was invented long before the motorways. Daimler Light 30 was the first British car to carry an eight-valve receiver, in a Marconiphone experiment in 1922 - chosen because it was a quiet car. Crossley was the first British carmaker to offer a factory-fitted car radio, in 1933. And the first car to have a radio fitted as standard was the Hillman Melody Minx in 1934. Sean Street, emeritus professor of radio at Bournemouth University, says we can’t underestimate the importance of the car radio to our culture - with most people enjoying nostalgic memories of family singalongs to the radio on long drives. He says: “There are special moments we share when we’re travelling and the radio is a big part of that.” Car radio listening has even made it into some cult movies. The 1987 Woody Allen film Radio Days looks back at the golden age of radio, with many of the warm, wistful moments taking place in cars. And in the 1973 film American Graffiti, director George Lucas made the car radio, playing rock and roll, the soundtrack - as teenagers cruised the neon-lit streets of Modesto, California. According to Ofcom, 26% of all live radio listening takes place in cars, vans and lorries. A poll of 2,000 motorists carried out by OnePoll for carmaker Fiat in April 2023 found 78% sing in the car, while 62% of those surveyed said singing along to the radio makes long journeys go quicker. But, despite its popularity, car radio faces a challenge from manufacturers, increasingly turning to different systems, with some electric models losing their traditional radio receivers altogether. For Professor Street, the car radio is a chance for people to feel part of something. He says: “That becomes very important, particularly in the car, when you may be on your own and the sense of something that’s happening at this moment to which an audience is tuned just like you. I think that’s kind of special. And something I wouldn’t want to say we’d lose.” Professor Street also believes that having the radio on is a chance to discover new things - and not just music. He says: “For example, about 20 years ago I was listening to Radio 4 (MUST KEEP) in the car and there was a nature programme on. And I was driving along and this guy came on and said, ‘we’re now going to be talking about slime moulds,’ things that grow on trees in the middle of forests. I’m not remotely interested in slime moulds. But they were this guy’s bread and butter and he was so passionate about it that by the end of his talking, I thought ‘he’s got me. slime moulds are great. I want to know more.’ It was because I wasn’t expecting to hear that. And it was because I was listening to it in the car. I was a captive audience. I was in the car. I was going from A to B, and there was nothing else to listen to, really. And so I was hooked.” According to Ofcom’s Audio Listening in the UK 2026 report, live radio accounts for a 71% share of all in-car audio listening, well ahead of online music on 19% and podcasts on 4%. Professor Street agrees with those wishing to make car radios compulsory on safety grounds. He says: “Things are changing so fast. We’re in a dangerous world. We’re in a frightening world. And to be able to have that live commentary, I think, at the end of the day when the floods break and when the danger signals come in and your phone’s bleeping that it’s a national emergency or whatever it is, you’re not going to listen to a podcast, are you? “You’re going to want a live voice telling you in real time what’s going on. And that is especially in a car. Because if I’m between Birmingham and Liverpool and I’m driving on the M6 and some big story breaks, I’m alone in the car and the only thing I’ve got is that voice telling me what the current situation is.” The car radio has come a long way since it first became popular with long distance drivers using motorways and, despite the opposition from some carmakers, forecasts show 98% of vehicles will have a DAB receiver by 2035. Professor Street is in no doubt we’ll keep listening. He says: “This kind of discussion comes up from time to time, whenever there’s new technological breakthroughs in media. It happened when DAB was introduced … DAB is going to wipe FM off the dial and so forth.” Podcasts caused the same panic, he says, adding: “Is a podcast better than live radio? No, I don’t think so. I think it does different things. With live radio in the car, I think the sense of spontaneity, of discovery, is one of the key things. If you’re listening to a podcast, or a playlist, you know what’s coming and that’s fine. But when you have the radio on a song - an old one or a new one - can come on and just catch you. And that can break your heart, can’t it? Because it gets you when you’re not ready for it.”