LONDON�Digital radio is now standard in 80% of new cars, Ed Vaizey, UK Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, announced today.
Data from industry analysts CAP and The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders for Q4 2105 shows that the percentage of new cars equipped with digital radio as standard equipment grew to 80.1%, compared to 7.5% in Q4 2010 and 61.2% in Q4 2014. This is the second biggest quarterly increase since monitoring began in 2010. All of the top 10 new car models have digital radio as standard equipment.� (See chart at right.)
Furthermore, 7% of all new cars had digital radio available as an option, taking the total proportion of new cars available with digital radio in Q4 2015 to nearly 90%.
“With 8 out of 10 new cars coming with digital radio, the future of radio is clearly digital and growing every year. Government is working closely with industry on the continued expansion of DAB digital radio, meaning listeners around the UK now have more stations than ever to choose from,� said Mr Vaizey.
Across the UK, a total 1.9 million cars were sold with DAB as standard equipment in 2015, accounting for 71% of the year�s record total sales of 2.6 million. Sales of commercial vehicles with DAB as standard equipment also saw record growth, increasing to 40% in December 2015, up from 28.3% in December 2014. This means van drivers can benefit from digital radio when they are on the move.
According to Rajar Q3 2015 data, 21.7% of all radio listening in the UK takes place in-car.� Vehicle manufacturers have made the decision to install digital radios in new cars in response to the increasing popularity of digital radio, the increase in the number of exclusive digital radio stations and the expansion of DAB transmitters to cover the major road network. The UK Government has set coverage and listening criteria for a future radio switchover which will likely be achieved in the next few years.
