Thread: Car makers: please make digital radio standard for all now

Not enough car manufacturers are taking the digital radio switchover seriously. Will the digital radio switchover ever happen? One thing looks certain: the governments original target date of 2015 for turning off analogue radio transmitters is looking more pie in the sky than ever.
More than 50 per cent of radio listening needs to be done digitally for the switchover to start, and figures revealed last year reveal only one in three people are doing so now.
The 50 per cent figure had expected to be reached this year, but a huge amount of digital radios would need to be purchased in the January sales or cars bought with digital radio as standard for that figure to be reached.
Dont expect the 50 per cent figure to be reached with too much help from the automotive industry. Even in 2013, digital radio is still viewed by too many manufacturers as a luxurious optional extra rather than something that everyone should have access to with a digital switchover – something the government remains committed to, regardless of how slow the uptake is.
Some manufacturers are now beginning to roll out digital radio as standard, market leader Ford being the most prominent. Fellow volume maker Volkswagen is getting involved too, with it being confirmed as standard on all models from the Polo upwards (so everything except the Up) for the 2013 model year. More and more Vauxhalls are coming with digital radios, but you can't get a Citroen with one and Peugeot is only now offering some models with the technology.
However, it is in the luxury segment where the absence of digital radio is both the most disappointing and surprising, with BMW the only one offering it as standard across its line-up. It is still not possible to get a digital radio even when spending more than 70,000 on a Porsche 911, for instance.
My desire for digital radio is specific, but there will be others like me with similar individual needs: as a cricket fan, Radio 4 long wave has always been my port of call for summer tests or morning winter commutes whenever England is playing abroad.
But I cant remember the last time I got into a car with long wave, so the only way to listen to the matches is digitally on 5 Live Sports Extra. Which is great, because you can actually hear what the commentators and pundits are saying without excessive crackle or interference.
Get in a good car with a good stereo and find something nice to listen to on digital radio and it is a soothing experience.
While the estimated 25 million people who will be left with dead air when the switchover does eventually happen will have to pay around 100 to have their radios upgraded to digital, the industry, with full knowledge that the switchover is coming, can stop this cost being spread further to new car buyers by making it standard kit now. I've made it a New Year's resolution for them on their behalf.