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United Kingdom - Automotive - History

09.02.2017

87% of new cars now have DAB digital radio as standard.

In 2016, a total of 2.3 million cars were sold with DAB as standard.

Q4 2016 saw the highest-ever recorded proportion of in-car radio listening, accounting for 23.3% of all radio listening, growth supported by the increase of in-car digital radio with 87% of new cars now fitted with DAB as standard (Q4 2016 CAP/SMMT). In this quarter, in-car digital listening hours grew by 40% year-on-year to 62.3 million hours from 44.5 million hours in Q4 2015.

With over 35 million cars on the road, the challenge (and opportunity) remains in the aftermarket. Digital Radio UK is working with the industry to support the growing aftermarket with consistent media and in-store promotional campaigns. As of January 2016, over 6.5 million cars on the road in the UK are able to receive digital radio.  All new cars in the UK fitted with DAB are also DAB+ compatible which is important given the launch of 3 DAB+ services on the new Sound Digital DAB network  – Jazz FM, Fun Kids and Magic Chilled – and with more expected to come.

RAC launches digital radio installation service

The RAC is a vehicle repair and recovery service in the UK. They are the first repair group to launch an online digital radio installation service with fully fitted adapters from £149.99 [see here]. There are currently two products available, the AutoDAB Connect (£149.99 fitted) and the JustDRIVE DAB (£219.99 fitted) - both tick mark approved.

Digital Radio UK – Digital Dashboard Audit

Drivers love digital radio in cars, and DAB digital radio is increasingly becoming the norm; 86% of new cars in the UK now come with DAB as standard. However, the introduction of connected cars and changes to digital dashboards could affect the ability of drivers to access broadcast radio. Digital Radio UK has conducted a Digital Dashboard Audit to find out if radio is still prominent on dashboards and assess the implications of connectivity on the user experience. Read the full report here.

Service Following

Alongside the launch of the Digital Radio Certification Mark; Arqiva, Global Radio and Digital Radio UK have rolled out service following for Global Radio to all those ensembles carrying Global Radio services – Capital, Heart, XFM, Gold and Classic FM. This is a significant milestone for the industry and comes after three years of trials. Service following is required as part of the Minimum Specification for in-vehicle products, therefore this test route will be useful for manufacturers to test their products.  For more information contact Sam Bonham, Technology Development Manager, Digital Radio UK sam.bonham@digitalradiouk.com.

AA Member Research: digital radio satisfaction high in car

  • The AA fielded a piece of online research into digital radio in cars and received a creditable 29,000 responses.
  • The survey found that 91% of drivers listen to broadcast radio in their car, 22% of all drivers have digital radio in their car and 86% of drivers were highly satisfied with their digital radio.
  • Most drivers without digital radio were not considering buying an adapter but were either waiting to buy a new car or for the switch-off of the FM services.
  • There is clear price resistance to buying car adapters. 53% of drivers without digital radio would consider buying a car adapter, but only if the price was under £100. 4% would pay over £100 and 43% would not buy an adapter.
  • 51% of drivers were aware of radio switchover. Internal research conducted by broadcasters indicates that most people think radio switchover will happen in the next 5-10 years.
  • The research confirms the high level of consumer satisfaction with digital radio in cars and highlights the importance of having more affordable adapters available.
11.01.2017

86% of new cars now have DAB digital radio as standard.

In 2016, a total of 2.3 million cars were sold with DAB as standard.

According to Q3 RAJAR data, in-car digital listening hours grew by 39% year on year to 60 million hours from 43 million hours in Q3 2015, and now accounts for 25.4% of all listening (from 19.3% in Q3 2015), accelerated by the growth in the percentage of new cars now fitted with digital radio as standard to 86% in Q3 2016 [Source: CAP/SMMT].

With over 35 million cars on the road, the challenge (and opportunity) remains in the aftermarket. Digital Radio UK is working with the industry to support the growing aftermarket with consistent media and in-store promotional campaigns. As of January 2016, over 6.5 million cars on the road in the UK are able to receive digital radio.  All new cars in the UK fitted with DAB are also DAB+ compatible which is important given the launch of 3 DAB+ services on the new Sound Digital DAB network  – Jazz FM, Fun Kids and Magic Chilled – and with more expected to come.

RAC launches digital radio installation service

The RAC is a vehicle repair and recovery service in the UK. They are the first repair group to launch an online digital radio installation service with fully fitted adapters from £149.99 [see here]. There are currently two products available, the AutoDAB Connect (£149.99 fitted) and the JustDRIVE DAB (£219.99 fitted) - both tick mark approved.

Digital Radio UK – Digital Dashboard Audit

Drivers love digital radio in cars, and DAB digital radio is increasingly becoming the norm; 86% of new cars in the UK now come with DAB as standard. However, the introduction of connected cars and changes to digital dashboards could affect the ability of drivers to access broadcast radio. Digital Radio UK has conducted a Digital Dashboard Audit to find out if radio is still prominent on dashboards and assess the implications of connectivity on the user experience. Read the full report here.

Service Following

Alongside the launch of the Digital Radio Certification Mark; Arqiva, Global Radio and Digital Radio UK have rolled out service following for Global Radio to all those ensembles carrying Global Radio services – Capital, Heart, XFM, Gold and Classic FM. This is a significant milestone for the industry and comes after three years of trials. Service following is required as part of the Minimum Specification for in-vehicle products, therefore this test route will be useful for manufacturers to test their products.  For more information contact Sam Bonham, Technology Development Manager, Digital Radio UK sam.bonham@digitalradiouk.com.

AA Member Research: digital radio satisfaction high in car

  • The AA fielded a piece of online research into digital radio in cars and received a creditable 29,000 responses.
  • The survey found that 91% of drivers listen to broadcast radio in their car, 22% of all drivers have digital radio in their car and 86% of drivers were highly satisfied with their digital radio.
  • Most drivers without digital radio were not considering buying an adapter but were either waiting to buy a new car or for the switch-off of the FM services.
  • There is clear price resistance to buying car adapters. 53% of drivers without digital radio would consider buying a car adapter, but only if the price was under £100. 4% would pay over £100 and 43% would not buy an adapter.
  • 51% of drivers were aware of radio switchover. Internal research conducted by broadcasters indicates that most people think radio switchover will happen in the next 5-10 years.
  • The research confirms the high level of consumer satisfaction with digital radio in cars and highlights the importance of having more affordable adapters available.
14.12.2016

85.3% of new cars now have DAB digital radio as standard.

In 2015, a total of 1.9 million cars were sold with DAB as standard, accounting for 71% of the year’s record annual total sales of 2.6 million. The big shift to digital radio in cars has accelerated in the last 2 years, delivered by the leading car manufacturers, and now all of the top 10 new car models have digital radio fitted as standard.

According to Q3 RAJAR data, in-car digital listening hours grew by 39% year on year to 60 million hours from 43 million hours in Q3 2015, and now accounts for 25.4% of all listening (from 19.3% in Q3 2015), accelerated by the growth in the percentage of new cars now fitted with digital radio as standard to 86% in Q3 2016 [Source: CAP/SMMT].

With over 35 million cars on the road, the challenge (and opportunity) remains in the aftermarket. Digital Radio UK is working with the industry to support the growing aftermarket with consistent media and in-store promotional campaigns. As of January 2016, over 6.5 million cars on the road in the UK are able to receive digital radio. In the year 2015 almost 1.9 million new cars were registered with digital radio as standard and it is projected that in 2016 over 2.2 million cars will be sold with digital radio as standard. All new cars in the UK fitted with DAB are also DAB+ compatible which is important given the launch of 3 DAB+ services on the new Sound Digital DAB network  – Jazz FM, Fun Kids and Magic Chilled – and with more expected to come.

RAC launches digital radio installation service

The RAC is a vehicle repair and recovery service in the UK. They are the first repair group to launch an online digital radio installation service with fully fitted adapters from £149.99 [see here]. There are currently two products available, the AutoDAB Connect (£149.99 fitted) and the JustDRIVE DAB (£219.99 fitted) - both tick mark approved.

Digital Radio UK – Digital Dashboard Audit

Drivers love digital radio in cars, and DAB digital radio is increasingly becoming the norm; 82.1% of new cars in the UK now come with DAB as standard. However, the introduction of connected cars and changes to digital dashboards could affect the ability of drivers to access broadcast radio. Digital Radio UK has conducted a Digital Dashboard Audit to find out if radio is still prominent on dashboards and assess the implications of connectivity on the user experience. Read the full report here.

Service Following

Alongside the launch of the Digital Radio Certification Mark; Arqiva, Global Radio and Digital Radio UK have rolled out service following for Global Radio to all those ensembles carrying Global Radio services – Capital, Heart, XFM, Gold and Classic FM. This is a significant milestone for the industry and comes after three years of trials. Service following is required as part of the Minimum Specification for in-vehicle products, therefore this test route will be useful for manufacturers to test their products.  For more information contact Sam Bonham, Technology Development Manager, Digital Radio UK sam.bonham@digitalradiouk.com.

AA Member Research: digital radio satisfaction high in car

  • The AA fielded a piece of online research into digital radio in cars and received a creditable 29,000 responses.
  • The survey found that 91% of drivers listen to broadcast radio in their car, 22% of all drivers have digital radio in their car and 86% of drivers were highly satisfied with their digital radio.
  • Most drivers without digital radio were not considering buying an adapter but were either waiting to buy a new car or for the switch-off of the FM services.
  • There is clear price resistance to buying car adapters. 53% of drivers without digital radio would consider buying a car adapter, but only if the price was under £100. 4% would pay over £100 and 43% would not buy an adapter.
  • 51% of drivers were aware of radio switchover. Internal research conducted by broadcasters indicates that most people think radio switchover will happen in the next 5-10 years.
  • The research confirms the high level of consumer satisfaction with digital radio in cars and highlights the importance of having more affordable adapters available.