In the face of mounting political pressure, Ford has decided to keep AM radios in its 2024 models. Ford had planned to take AM radio out of its electric and traditional vehicles. In explaining the change in attitude, Ford President Jim Farly stated the following on Twitter and LinkedIn:
“After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the emergency alert system, we've decided to include it on all 2024 Ford & Lincoln vehicles. For any owners of Ford EVs without AM broadcast capability, we’ll offer a software update. Customers can currently listen to AM radio content in a variety of ways in our vehicles — including via streaming — and we will continue to innovate to deliver even better in-vehicle entertainment and emergency notification options in the future. Thanks to our product development and manufacturing teams for their quick response to make this change for our customers.”
This is a huge step forward. We strongly support Ford’s decision as it shows that any concerns about interference to AM reception can be fixed. However, it does not resolve the problem. Ford’s commitment is only for the 2024 model year. Moreover, other automakers such as BMW, Tesla, Volvo, Mazda, and others still plan to take AM radios out of their electric vehicles.
We still have a lot of work to do on this issue. We need to pass the AM Radio in Every Vehicle Act (H.R.3413 & S.1669). NYSBA is working with the New York Congressional Delegation to gain support for this legislation.
You can see the text of the AM Radio in Every Vehicle Act (H.R. 3413) here.