Owners of new Ford vehicles will be able to tune in to AM radio in their cars, trucks and SUVs after all.
The Detroit News reports Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley wrote in social media postings Tuesday that the company is reversing a decision to scrub the band after speaking with government policy leaders who are concerned about keeping emergency alerts that often are sounded on AM stations.
“We've decided to include it on all 2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles," Farley wrote on LinkedIn and Twitter. "For any owners of Ford's EVs without AM broadcast capability, we'll offer a software update” to restore it.
Sponsors of the “AM for Every Vehicle Act” cited public safety concerns, noting AM's historic role in transmitting vital information during emergencies, such as natural disasters, especially to rural areas.
Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., one of the bill’s sponsors, said eight of 20 major automakers including Ford, BMW AG and Tesla Inc. have pulled the band from new vehicles.
Ford removed AM from the 2023 Mustang Mach-e and F-150 Lightning electric pickups after data collected from vehicles showed that less than 5% of customers listened to it, spokesman Alan Hall said. Electrical interference and reducing cost and manufacturing complexity also played a role.
The company also took it out of the 2024 gasoline-powered Mustang, but will add it back in before any of the muscle cars are delivered, Hall said.
The EVs will get an online software update to put AM back into the vehicles, and Ford will keep including it in future vehicles as it looks at innovative ways to deliver emergency alerts, Hall said.
Ford and others also suggested that internet radio or other communication tools could replace AM radio. But Markey and others pointed to situations where drivers might not have internet access.
The Federal Communications Commission and National Association of Broadcasters praised the legislation, which is also backed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J.; Rep. Tom Kean, Jr., R-N.J., and Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., among others.
But the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a U.S. trade group that represents major automakers including Ford and BMW, criticized the bill, calling the AM radio mandate unnecessary.
The trade group pointed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alerts and Warning System, which can distribute safety warnings across AM, FM, internet-based and satellite radios — as well as over cellular networks.
According to the National Association of Broadcasters and Nielsen data, more than 80 million people in the United States listen to AM radio every month.
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