As automakers continue testing the waters of removing terrestrial radio access from vehicles, new Nielsen research suggests the experiment carries real risk: roughly half of US car buyers say they would walk away from a car purchase entirely without it.
A comprehensive In Car Radio Study conducted by Nielsen in partnership with iHeartMedia surveyed more than 1,000 recent and prospective car buyers in May, pairing direct survey questions with a Choice-Based Conjoint analysis, a modeling method widely used in the automotive sector because it forces respondents into the same feature-versus-price tradeoffs they would face on a dealership lot.
Fifty-one percent of respondents said they would not buy a vehicle lacking AM/FM radio acces. Refusal ran higher among women (58%) than men (46%) and rose steadily with age, from 40% of buyers ages 18-34, to 46% of those ages 35-54, to 67% of buyers 55 and older.
More than 7 in 10 consumers described radio as essential equipment that should come standard in every new vehicle, ranking its importance alongside smartphone integration and well ahead of satellite radio or built-in subscription music apps. That tracks with actual listening behavior: AM/FM already commands a dominant share of in-car listening across major auto brands, and Edison Research’s first-quarter 2026 Share of Ear study found radio accounts for 55% of all audio time spent in the car, compared with 16% for streaming and 29% for YouTube, podcasts, satellite radio, and owned music or audiobooks combined.
Nielsen’s conjoint modeling put a dollar figure on that preference. Smartphone integration carried the highest estimated monthly value to consumers at $52, ranking number one in relative importance. Standard AM/FM radio followed at $46 in monthly value, ranking number two, ahead of satellite radio at $29, ranked number three, and built-in subscription music apps at $18, ranked number four.
The stakes extend to brand perception. Roughly half of respondents said they would view an automaker less favorably if it removed AM/FM radio entirely from its lineup, a reaction the study found most pronounced among buyers 55 and older, a demographic automakers depend on for repeat purchases. The finding lands weeks after Rivian revealed it was cutting FM band access from its latest models, joining Tesla in stripping all terrestrial radio from EV trims. Dodge is reportedly considering the same thing.
Drivers pointed to practical advantages streaming has yet to replicate.
Eight in 10 respondents said receiving national Emergency Alert System notifications in their vehicle is important, a priority the study found strongest among buyers age 18 to 54. Two in 3 consumers said zero-latency sports listening, meaning no lag behind the live action, matters when following games in the car, a preference especially pronounced among male drivers, younger buyers and hybrid or electric vehicle owners.
More than 3 in 4 buyers called AM/FM a simple, friction-free option for group listening, and 8 in 10 said it is important for real-time traffic and local news.
Behavior at the wheel splits along similar lines. Four in 10 drivers said connecting their phone via Bluetooth or CarPlay/Android Auto is the first thing they do after getting into a vehicle, while a quarter of respondents said tuning to AM/FM radio is their first move.
The research lands as the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which would require automakers to include AM receivers in new vehicles, continues to build momentum toward the House floor. The bill’s language was folded into the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act, which passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee by a 48-1 vote in May and could still be rolled into the BUILD America 250 Act, the five-year, $580 billion surface transportation package the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee separately advanced by a 62-2 vote that same month.
Congress faces a September 30 deadline to renew highway and transit authorization, giving the mandate its clearest path to passage yet, though it has not reached a floor vote in either chamber.
