United Kingdom - Automotive - History

24.11.2015

Nearly three-quarters of new cars now come with digital radio as standard and three in ten adults now use a vehicle with digital radio, according to the Ofcom Technology Tracker. [Source: Ofcom Technology Tracker, H2 2015].

Data from industry analysts CAP and The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders for Q3 2105 shows that the number of new cars fitted with digital radio as standard in September 2015 has increased by 40% compared to September 2014 (343,000 in September 2015 vs 245,000 in September 2014) and that the proportion with digital radio has increased to 74.1% from 57.6% in September 2014, and 41.5% in September 2013.

Additionally a further 7% of all new cars offer digital radio as an option which means that over 80% of cars (81.2%) are available with digital radio.

In the last quarter over 500,000 cars (527,000) have been sold with digital radio fitted as standard, and in the last 12 months 1.75 million cars have been sold with digital radio as standard.

The top 10 new car models sold in September all have digital radio fitted as standard.

According to RAJAR, digital listening in car has grown by 48% year on year and now accounts for almost 17% in all car listening.

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 April 2015, over 4 million cars on the road in the UK are able to receive digital radio (15% of all cars). 

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; 70% 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.

20.11.2015

Data from industry analysts CAP and The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders for Q3 2105 shows that the number of new cars fitted with digital radio as standard in September 2015 has increased by 40% compared to September 2014 (343,000 in September 2015 vs 245,000 in September 2014) and that the proportion with digital radio has increased to 74.1% from 57.6% in September 2014, and 41.5% in September 2013.

Additionally a further 7% of all new cars offer digital radio as an option which means that over 80% of cars (81.2%) are available with digital radio.

In the last quarter over 500,000 cars (527,000) have been sold with digital radio fitted as standard, and in the last 12 months 1.75 million cars have been sold with digital radio as standard.

The top 10 new car models sold in September all have digital radio fitted as standard.

According to RAJAR, digital listening in car has grown by 48% year on year and now accounts for almost 17% in all car listening.

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 April 2015, over 4 million cars on the road in the UK are able to receive digital radio (15% of all cars). 

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; 70% 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.

21.08.2015

New cars with DAB hit 70%

New data from CAP/SMMT shows that in March, 70% of new car registrations had digital radio as standard, up by 22% from the Q2 2014. In the UK there has been 40 consecutive months of growth in car sales and the top 10 best-selling cars in 2015 all have DAB as standard now. Commercial vehicles with DAB as standard also grew to 26.3% this quarter from 22% in Q1, a rise of 20% and up from only 5.6% a year ago.

According to RAJAR, digital listening in car has grown by 48% year on year and now accounts for almost 17% in all car listening.

A total of 19 of the top 20 selling brands now offer DAB digital radio as standard on their models with market leaders Ford, Vauxhall, VW, Audi and BMW fitting DAB into the vast majority of their cars.

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 April 2015, over 4 million cars on the road in the UK are able to receive digital radio (15% of all cars). 

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; 70% 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.