-
Sens. Edward Markey (D) and Ted Cruz (R) have introduced a bill to keep AM radio in vehicles.
Some electric car manufacturers are opting to remove AM radios from their vehicles, which attracted the attention of Sen. Ted Cruz (R) and Sen. Edward J. Markey (D) who highlighted the need to pass their AM for Every Vehicle Act.
The bipartisan and bicameral legislation would direct federal regulators to require automakers to maintain AM broadcast radio in their new vehicles at no additional charge to consumers. They introduced this bill in response to the concerning trend of automakers removing AM radios from their vehicles.
In an op-ed, the two senators wrote: “Every month, more than 80 million Americans listen to AM radio. They rely on AM to provide them with news, especially local news, as well as safety alerts, talk radio, sports and music. Now, several major automakers want to take away this important resource in new cars going forward. That would be a serious mistake.
“AM radio stations serve a critical role in our Emergency Alert System. AM radio signals cover a much larger geographical area than FM radio signals or cell towers and continue to function during hurricanes, tornadoes, or other severe weather events, when other communications networks can be unreliable and stop working.
“So, getting rid of AM radio in cars means that some people may miss essential communications during an emergency, especially as 40% of radio listeners are tuning in from their cars.
Additionally, the two senators stated that getting rid of AM radio in cars will impact rural and agricultural listeners on farms and ranches, especially those who lack access to broadband connectivity.
“There are a lot of places in the country where AM radio stations are some of the only choices people have to hear what’s going on in terms of agricultural matters, music, talk or news.”
Cruz and Markey have introduced the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2023, which is bipartisan legislation that would direct federal regulators to require automakers to keep AM radio in their new cars at no additional cost.
“If this bill passed, car manufacturers wouldn’t be able to remove the ability of customers to choose to listen to AM radio in their cars.”
Currently, out of 20 automakers, seven have removed AM radio from their electric vehicles — BMW, Mazda, Polestar, Rivian, Tesla, Volkswagen and Volvo. Ford opted to keep AM radio in their new cars.