A report from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation claims the cost for auto manufacturers to keep AM Radio in the dashboard of electric vehicles is just under $4 billion. The NAB has balked at that figure.
Alliance for Automotive Innovation President John Bozzella called AM Radio “not popular with customers and now we know: not cheap” after estimates that electric vehicle manufacturers could see costs of up to $3.8 billion by 2030 to keep the band in the dashboard.
The costs to keep AM Radio in EVs come from shielding cables and interference filters that are required to mitigate electromagnetic interference. The estimates put the cost per vehicle at between $40-$70 for those components.
“These costs can be avoided by deleting analog AM radio from vehicles and providing consumers with alternative products for in-vehicle audio content,” a report from the Center for Automotive Research claims.
Bozella continued by saying AM Radio is irrelevant in emergency situations, pointing to a survey that claimed 95% of Americans received the October nationwide EAS test on their phones, rather than via AM/FM Radio.
The study comes after the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act received widespread Congressional support.
In response, the NAB is pushing back on the claim that costs to automakers would be near $4 billion, pointing to data from the Congressional Budget Office that estimates the cost as closer to $198 million in 2023.
“Hundreds of thousands of Americans have voiced their support to their lawmakers for keeping AM radio in the vehicle because they understand the critical role local AM stations play during emergencies – not just when the initial alert goes out but until the danger has passed,” NAB spokesman Alex Siciliano said.
