Will Electric Cars Kill AM Radio?

That’s the question Autoweek asks in a lengthy article released yesterday that includes the opinion of Radio Ink Chairman Eric Rhoads. For some reason, there continues to be a problem with AM Radio interference caused by the electric motors leading to the demise of AM Radio in these vehicles.

Last week at Forecast 2023, Autonomy CEO and Founder Scott Painter said by 2030 all vehicles on the road will be electric. Autonomy is an automotive subscription service that allows customers to purchase electric vehicles from an app and without having to deal with the unpleasant experience of dealing with car salesman.

Jim Motavalli writes in Autoweek that the interference caused to AM Radio by the electric cars is the reason the BMWi3 electric car stopped including AM radio years ago. Tesla dropped AM Radio in 2018. The Mercedes-Benz EQS EV doesn’t include AM and Volvo and Audi also churn out electric vehicles without AM, according to Motavalli.

There was a short period of time, mostly during the Ajit Pai FCC years, that it appeared the Commission might make a real effort to revive AM. However, other than the big powerhouse stations across the country, unless a station moved to digital, the band still puts out inferior quality sound. And when consumers can get great-sounding audio programming with the flick of a button on their smartphone why would they even consider listening to AM Radio?

The Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck had AM, but it’s going away, Ford Spokesman Emma Bergg tells Motavalli in the Autoweek article. “While we have had AM on our EVs, it is actually being removed for Lightning. The frequencies involved in AM radio tend to be directly affected by the electromagnetic noise in EV propulsion systems. It takes extra investment to make AM work in an EV, and quality can be compromised as well.”

Radio Ink Chairman Eric Rhoads predicted this would be coming a long time ago and was widely criticized by the radio industry. The big question is, what is the radio industry doing to save the AM band? Do you even care anymore? Have you given up on AM Radio?