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The end of AM radio in your car? Not if Ed Markey has anything to say about it

Sen. Ed Markey sent off letters to 20 different car manufacturers asking to keep AM radio around in future models.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., applauds at an event Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, in Boston. Markey sent out a letter advocating for AM radio to remain in new car models, even EVs. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

By Gwen Egan

December 4, 2022

AM radio in cars isn’t going anywhere while Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey is around.

In a letter he sent to more than 20 car manufacturers, Markey outlined why he thinks AM radio is important and asked that they continue to have AM radios in future models, including electric vehicles known as EVs.

“Broadcast AM radio remains a crucial, cost-free source of news, sports, and weather, and, more importantly, is an essential medium for public safety officials — including the president — to communicate with the public during emergencies,” he wrote in the letter.

Markey cited statistics from the Pew Research Center News Platform Fact Sheet from September 2022 which said 47% of Americans receive their news from the radio.

Some EV manufacturers have raised concerns even as far back as 2016 about how the battery power of an EV can interfere with AM radio signals. However, Markey addressed these concerns saying, “car manufacturers appear to have developed innovative solutions to this problem.”