Legislators to automakers: Don’t touch that dial! Inside the fight over AM radio

Once at the center of American life, AM radio stands in the middle of a tussle between automakers who want it gone and federal lawmakers who say it is key for emergency alerts during catastrophes.

BMW, Mazda, Polestar, Rivian, Tesla, Volkswagen and Volvo do not offer broadcast AM radio in their electric vehicles, citing the EV motor's electromagnetic interference with the AM system and a resulting ticking sound. About a third of all new EV models available for purchase in the United States in 2023 are not equipped with an AM tuner, according to SBD Automotive, a global automotive technology research firm.

Automakers are dumping the radio as they face immense pressure to cut costs, reduce complexity and increase EV efficiency, even marginally. Competition is fierce and companies are struggling to make money on electric vehicles under $70,000. They also cite little AM radio use by new-car buyers.

An AM tuner adds from $20 to $30 to a vehicle's bill of materials, according to SBD Automotive. Automakers want to slash spending where they can as they divert capital to new EV models and driver-assist technology.

"They are going to leave no stone unturned," said Eric Noble, president of consulting firm The CARLAB. "They're going to look to pull costs out anywhere they can."

But this retro technology might be here to stay. The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides some radio stations, most of them AM, with backup communications equipment and power generators so they can broadcast alerts "under all conditions," even if other systems, from social media to TV, fail. Legislators have introduced a bill that would require AM radio to remain in vehicles to ensure drivers have access to hardened emergency alert systems. AM radio reaches about 45 million listeners each month in the U.S., compared with 231 million listeners for FM, according to Nielsen ratings.

Bowing to government pressure, Ford Motor Co. agreed last month to keep AM radio in 2024 Ford and Lincoln EV models and restore it via software to 2023 vehicles, which still contain AM radio hardware. Ford had initially also removed AM radio from a combustion vehicle, the 2024 Mustang.

Less than 5 percent of Ford's connected-car users listen to AM radio.

In December 2022, Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, wrote to 20 automakers asking if they offered free AM or FM broadcast radio, if they had plans to discontinue those features in the future and if they offered digital broadcast radio.

"AM/FM broadcast radio remains the most dependable, cost-free, and accessible communication mechanism for public officials to communicate with the public during times of emergency," he said in the letter. "As a result, any phase-out of broadcast AM radio could pose a significant communication problem during emergencies."

Seven automakers say they do not offer broadcast AM radio. Tesla, for example, said the electric drivetrain design is the source of "significant interference to AM radio transmissions."

That's because the technology behind the battery-powered motor requires an electromagnetic field, said Jan Becker, founder and CEO of Apex.AI, which designs mobility software. The inverter in the system switches the current from one set of coils to another, changing the electromagnetic field constantly, which turns the motor.

AM radio uses the same process to modulate the amplitude of radio waves.

"You now have two completely separate systems — one is the battery EV motor system; the other one is the radio and the receiver system — that use the exact same physical principle," Becker said.

Combustion engines also create interference but on a significantly smaller scale. Automakers have added parts to both powertrains to suppress the interference, forcing them to compromise on the efficiency of the motor system. For battery-electric motors, the interference is stronger and requires more suppression. That suppression reduces the motor system's efficiency by a fraction of a percent, said Becker, but "still, it's a design compromise."

General Motors and Mercedes-Benz did not respond to Markey's inquiry and instead referenced a response from an industry trade group, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which implored the government to continue to modernize its emergency alert system.

Anna Yu, a GM spokesperson, told Automotive News that the automaker "offers AM radio on all products" and the company is "evaluating AM radio on future vehicles and not providing any further details at this time."

Stellantis said in its response letter that it has "not announced the elimination of AM or FM radio from our vehicles sold in the United States" and "continues to offer AM and FM radio as a standard feature in all vehicles."

Volkswagen said the company has "explored a variety of solutions to reduce interference, but unfortunately none of them work well or are practical" and "our consumers have so far not requested AM radios be installed in our EVs."

The government's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System contains two parts. One distributes emergency messages such as Amber Alerts through private-sector radio and TV stations and through cellphones. The other part, the National Public Warning System, consists of 77 radio stations shored up by FEMA, 62 of which are AM.

Generally, FM radio stations sound better than AM radio stations, but AM radio stations have wider reach because they broadcast at a longer wavelength and can bounce off the ionosphere at night. AM radio waves also travel through solid objects such as mountains, unlike FM, and require less equipment than TV. Internet access and cell service vary by location.

"Radio is the least brittle medium. If they have a generator and backup capacity, they can continue to run for a long time, and most individuals still indicate that they do have a radio at home," said Patric Spence, a professor at the University of Central Florida whose research focuses on crisis and risk communication. "If other means of communication for emergency messages are disabled, radio is still likely there."

Drivers in rural areas are sometimes out of range of FM stations and broadband and rely on broadcasters such as Brian Winnekins, the owner of WRDN Radio in Wisconsin, who hosts a program for farmers from 5 to 7 a.m. — even beyond emergency alerts.
During April and May of 2020, WRDN broadcast school on the radio for an hour later in the mornings because Winnekins learned that people in the same household were unable to use the Wi-Fi at the same time. Teachers would say the Pledge of Allegiance and make announcements, including student birthdays.

"It was something to at least keep the kids connected" during the early days of the pandemic, he said.

Now, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, and other legislators are shepherding the AM for Every Vehicle Act through the House of Representatives. It would direct NHTSA to require that automakers maintain AM broadcast radio in vehicles for free, among other provisions. The bill's champions in the Senate include Democrat Markey and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

The House's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology has scheduled a hearing on the issue Tuesday, June 6.