Traditional radio commands 81% of in-car ad-supported audio time among Ford drivers and 90% among Chevrolet drivers, positioning broadcast radio as the dominant medium for automotive advertisers targeting both loyalty buyers and conquest audiences.
In new analyses, Cumulus Media Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard states that Edison Research’s quarterly Share of Ear data reinforces a case for AM/FM’s primacy not just in the car but across all listening contexts. Ford drivers devote 67% of their total ad-supported audio time to radio across all locations; Chevrolet drivers devote 72%. Both figures outpace the national average of 64%, with Chevrolet drivers running 13 points above the mean and Ford drivers running 5 points above it.
Podcasts rank second for both driver segments at a 19% share among Ford drivers and 11% among Chevrolet drivers, followed by streaming platforms with single- to mid-single-digit shares. Ad-supported Pandora holds 5% among Ford drivers and 9% among Chevrolet drivers. Ad-supported Spotify holds 4% and 5%, respectively. Ad-supported SiriusXM accounts for 4% among Ford drivers and 2% among Chevrolet drivers.
The conquest case rests on a separate figure: across all drivers regardless of brand, AM/FM radio holds an 83% share of in-car ad-supported audio.
According to S&P Global Mobility data cited in the report, Ford’s overall brand loyalty rate sits at 59%, meaning more than four in ten Ford buyers come from competing brands. Chevrolet’s loyalty rate, as reported by Reynolds and Reynolds, stands at 46%, making conquest activity a majority driver of its sales volume. S&P Mobility separately ranks General Motors number one for multi-brand loyalty at 68%.
Ford’s truck segment loyalty is notably higher: the 2025 J.D. Power US Automotive Brand Loyalty Study ranked the Ford truck lineup highest among truck brands for the fourth consecutive year, at 67%.
The conquest case is reinforced by a separate 2025 Nielsen Scarborough analysis of an Indianapolis auto intender campaign.
A pure TV strategy reached 41% of potential buyers; shifting just 20% of that budget into AM/FM pushed reach up an additional 40% at no added cost, driven by radio’s penetration among light and non-TV viewers.
Nielsen Senior Client Solutions Executive Michael Katz, writing for Cumulus Media’s Westwood One Audio Active Group, attributes the dynamic to the 95/5 rule developed by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute of Marketing Science: only about 5% of consumers are actively shopping for a vehicle at any given time, meaning campaigns built around in-market buyers alone ignore the 95% who represent future revenue.
